Limerence
by TheLadyShira
Summary: DISCONTINUED; maybe one day I'll come back to it and fix/finish it to my liking.
1. Chapter 1

It's hard to perceive people and their reasoning. Humans are the most complicated creatures known to mankind, and will be for all of existence. One disagreement can break a whole world out in a war and cause people to destroy everything in their path. Everyone says they're tired of fighting but hold no truth to their words when at their last moments of breath, they're killing another human being while someone is behind them doing the same thing. If the world truly wanted peace then something would be done about it. Saying and doing are two very different things, and doing nothing will give you nothing. It's like asking a Kage how they got to such a high position. They worked at it and got the recognition they needed to make their village and the people living there happy and safe from the horrors of the world.

I've wasted over half my life trying to comprehend the thoughts of many people in the world, but feel there is no answer to the things that happen and the actions that are caused by such a group. We as humans are power hungry and wish for dominance. We want everything the world has to offer but we don't want to share with others when something is obtained. We are so boastful, claiming to be better and well endowed than other living species we share the earth with.

The truth is, is that we as humans are vulnerable to the world and to each other. We can't handle the sheer thought of being less capable than an animal lost in the middle of a storm. We can't handle the possibility of coming last, and would rather drown in a pool of water so not to be shamed to the face because, who could look down upon a dead man? Who is sadistic enough to humiliate someone when they are not walking among the living, but with the deceased instead?

I've come to the conclusion that there is no peace. Not even in the fairy tale stories that our parents read to us as children. I've been alive long enough to see the hatred in peoples eyes, and see the revenge soaked into a person from their very bones to each individual cell going through their body. I've seen how ruthless someone can be when they have a smirk on their face from seeing the clear discomfort they put you through. It's heartbreaking to feel the negative vibes rolling off of each person you pass; seeing their chakra darken at the core and sometimes seeing it lengthen farther than that. It is made that killing and harming others is essential and needed. Though we are not back in the Warring States period, we are still in the state of destruction that is not lifting up any time soon. We are going to destroy everything before we get the chance to appreciate each other and the things around us. And it's very sad when you come to that realization and knowing there is nothing you can do about it.

I was born some fifty years before Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju became clan leaders, and was able to witness some of the horrific sights that came along with the battles between the two clans. The gruesome bloodshed left both the clans angry and revengeful, keeping the battles up for years to come. I was thankful for seeing the peaceful mindset of Hashirama, if it wasn't for him the fighting might still be around today.

In the making of the Leaf Village, I was liked by many, but as the years went on, everyone's insightful behavior washed over themselves. They thought they knew me, and for that I was banished from many of the places around the village; I was considered an evil presence for not aging. It wasn't until the Third Hokage that people began to accept me but often still was wary over me. So not to stress families out more than it clearly showed when I was around, I stayed near the Hokage, doing any kind of personal needs that he may of acquired from me, and didn't venture out into the village unless completely necessary.

I wouldn't say I was living a sad life, but it was quite lonesome. Once I realized I would no longer age, and watched everyone I knew and loved die, I made it a rule to myself to never get close to another human being. Instead, I watched from a distance and payed more attention to how everyone communicated and related towards one another. It made me happy seeing friends smiling and laughing, it reminded me that not everyone felt the need to kill and fight. Children were my favorite. They were the definition of innocence; always going by with a smile on their face even at the roughest times.

;

It was October, and closing in on the six year anniversary of the Nine Tails attack on the village. It was rather dreary, the weather acting on as everyone's emotions and making it darker then it should've been. It became a habit of mine to venture outside at dusk; when everyone was retiring for the day and leaving the daylight to shut down slowly just like their tired, resting bodies.

The clouds hung heavy over top of the entire area and almost made me turn back around and go inside, but the faint smell of sweat coming from a nearby training grounds caught my attention. As I made my way down a trail to the new destination, I couldn't help but take in the subtle hints of life with every passing step I took. Birds flew soundlessly away from my approach, and a cat meowed out at the sight of me before jumping from a tree and running back in the direction I came from. Soon, after a bit of walking, I found myself behind a tree peering over at a young boy; his hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and wearing dark ninja clothing. I grabbed one of the tree's limbs and hoisted myself up on it, getting comfy while watching the boy's vigorous training. With his back to me, I could see the proud stitching of the Uchiha clans symbol etched in the middle of his shirt.

Ever since the Nine Tails attack, everyone let their dislike and distrust be known to the Uchiha Clan since they were suspected to have something to do with the unleashing of the beast. Though it may be a terrible thing to think, it gave me a feeling of relief since I wasn't the main thing being disliked in this village. But it also made me terribly sad to see an innocent family get accused over something that was out of their control. The boy was brought back to my attention when he threw a kunai and hit the bark beside of my head. My eyes widened and I let out a breath of air. I didn't feel threatened, but it did startle me; I didn't see him take stance because of how deep in thought I was, and when I finally took notice of him turned to me, my mind didn't process the kunai whizzing past his fingertips. How... incredible. I was never one for fighting or training hours on end, my existence was purely fueled by saving lives, whenever the time actually came. It wasn't often. Many years ago I had a sensei that taught me the key points of my clans kekkei genkai, and it took months for me to perfect it. I succeeded and was soon known as one of the top healers to of ever come from my clan in over a century.

That information never left the main branch of the clan house, they didn't want the last Miyoko to have any kind of negative encounter with the shinobi lifestyle. Even though it wasn't completely unavoidable, I was hidden from powerful clans so not to of been kidnapped and used against my will. Once The Hidden Leaf was founded, I left in search of a happier, free life. Soon after, a disease quickly spread throughout the remaining homes of my clan, leaving me as the last Keiko.

The boy looked at me with his Sharingan blazing. I've never seen one so close to me before and I held amazement inside of my body at the sight before me. This wasn't the first time the boy has caught me watching his training, he usually looked my way and continued on, but this time was different as he bounded up the tree to me and stood in my line of sight. I got up from my crouched position and looked him in his eyes. He was young. Only around eleven years old, but had such raw talent that it lit a flame of pride in the pit of my stomach. I haven't seen anyone like this since I met Minato Namikaze years back.

"What's your name?" It made me smile at how innocent the question was when he could easily destroy me. I watched as he closed his eyes and opened them again to reveal dark, almost black irises.

"Sumiko Keiko." I replied with no hesitation. His eyes averted to my left, I was about to see what he was staring at before he raised his arm and grabbed a hold of the kunai embedded into the tree and jerked it out.

"Itachi Uchiha." He said back as he jumped to the ground below.

;

It's been a little over five months since Itachi and I became "friends". And every day since I spent any free time I had watching him train. It was magnificent seeing such a young person be so incredibly talented, and give their all through the tiring work they did.

"Father doesn't often give Sasuke the credibility he deserves. I mean, he's just a little kid.." Over the days we have spent together, I found it quite easy to get Itachi to talk about how he feels, except I have to do the same thing.

"But Itachi, you are, also. You may not see yourself as that, but despite your excellent performance, you're just a child. Barely even hitting the teenage mark."

"I know that, too. But it makes me feel like father doesn't see Sasuke as important as me. I don't want him thinking our dad doesn't love him. He's all the time trying to impress him but father just shoots him down in the end." At this point, Itachi relaxed his stance and let loose a deep sigh. "I feel like I'm not playing the big brother role right. I feel like I'm letting him down." The kunai slipped from his grasp as he took a seat near me.

"You don't need to think like that. Give your brother some time, and your father, too. Let Sasuke get where he needs to be at his own pace because in the end that's how progress is made. I sit out here with you sometimes for eight hours a day watching you train. And I've learned much about you just by _seeing_. You're very reserved. You don't communicate like the other kids your age does. But you're a genuinely good person. I can feel that when I gaze into your eyes." He picked at a particularly long grass leaf until it ended up being shredded, then dropped all the pieces to the ground. "You're very passionate and I admire that about you. I haven't met many people like you, Itachi. Feel proud of who you are and how you stand. You've got an amazing talent. Just don't let people take advantage over your good nature and power. It will be your down fall."

We sat in complete silence, the only noise being the birds over our heads and the picking up of croaking frogs looking for mates.

"Why do people speak such mean things of you?"

I had to think, because not even I knew that answer. I shrugged before looking up into the blue sky. "They don't know how to accept who I am." Was my simple reply. How is it you tell an eleven year old you're much older than the village he lives in and that it's the result of everything?

"I've paid quite a lot of attention to you, Sumiko. And for awhile, too. You've looked the same since I graduated from the academy. It's been four, almost five, years. You would've matured in some features during that time. Is that why the village people are so unkind to you?"

"Yeah, Itachi." The corners of my mouth lifted up as I looked from the sky to into his eyes. "What do you think about it?" I was curious of his thoughts.

"I think you're immortal." There was no fear in that small sentence. Nor hate, only true curiosity.

"Well, not necessarily. I can still be killed."

"What do you mean?" Itachi's eyes momentarily lit up, but a poof resonated around our area and cut off our conversation, and immediately Itachi jumped up with his kunai tightly in his grasp again.

"Keiko, Lord Hokage has asked for you." I turned my head to look at a masked man dressed in complete black.

"Yes, okay," The ANBU nodded his head and disappeared in a heap of smoke, "I'll see you later, Itachi." I got up from my position and started to walk off.

"Will you tell me everything else when I see you again?" I smirked when I turned to face him.

"Little Itachi, you'll know one day. Don't rush yourself. Have a good day."

;

"Sumiko, I need you to go on a mission for me. A rogue ninja, utmost a B rank, has taken a scroll from a small neighboring village. The scroll holds the key to the village's secrets and they have asked for our help to retrieve it."

"May I say something, Lord Third? Why are you asking me to go on a mission? I'm not even a ninja." He looked at me with a gentle smile and held out a file containing a shinobi's profile.

"Itachi Uchiha has become quite attached to you. I think this is the first real relationship with someone other than his family." The Third stood up and walked to one of the many windows in the room. "He was originally suppose to go alone. He already knows of this mission. I've just decided to have you tag along. I want you to see how he truly is when on a mission."

"I understand what you're saying," I began, "but, don't you think it's a little rash to have an inexperienced person in the line of duty? What if I cause more problems than what is needed?"

"Please, Ms. Keiko. Itachi is more than capable enough to protect you along with himself." The Hokage moved from the window and walked straight back to me. He grabbed the file off the desk and opened it up."That's why I'm not having a team go out. If he passes this then it shows me that he could end up being in the ANBU in the near future. We need someone like him."

I softly chewed on my bottom lip and let loose a sigh. "Alright."

"Just be careful, Sumiko, and don't worry. I assure you nothing will happen. Itachi is a very capable young man."

;

It was at the break of dawn when Itachi and I met up at the main entrance gates. "Did you pack all of your things needed?" I questioned once we got a move on.

"Yes, have you?" He answered back. A nod of my head ended our early morning discussion, and we continued our trek. Since the arrival of our destination had no specific time, besides getting there within three days, we walked the majority of the day and sat up camp nearing dusk. Nothing had occurred getting this far, but one can never be too cautious.

"Do you want me to take first watch?" The moon light reflected off Itachi's eyes when he looked at me.

"No, you need your rest." I threw him a baggie of dried fruits and meats before grabbing my own from my pack. "Eat up, you need your nutrients, too."

"You're acting like a mother hen. Calm down, I can practically hear your heartbeat from here." I narrowed my eyes and huffed as I sat down. Leaving the safety of the village has made me quite nervous. Ever since coming to live there I have not left one time.

"Shut up and eat. After you've finished, go to sleep. I'll wake you up later for your watch."

Itachi took his time finishing up his meal, all the while staring into the flames of the small fire he built. Once he finished, he grabbed a thin blanket from his pack and covered himself, making the pack his pillow. Soon, he fell asleep with a soft snore. I made my position against a tree more comfortable, taking out my own blanket to put in between the rigid bark and my back. I tried to sense for any intruding chakra, and relaxed more when everything deemed safe. It was calm; the night sky was full of twinkling stars, and every once in a while I seen one shoot across my line of sight. If only life was as peaceful as this.

"Itachi, wake up. It's your turn." I said, gently pushing his back with the tip of my toes. He rose up and let his eyes adjust to the blackness the woods around us permitted. It was well past midnight and I was beginning to really tire. I could hardly keep my eyes open, much less detect any kind of pending danger. He got in a crouched position before standing up and making his way to a low branched tree. I lied down in his warm spot and tried to get comfortable on the hard ground, and soon, I fell asleep.

;

The morning birds chirped continuously as we ventured further into the woods. Itachi had woken me up at dawn after he had packed most of our things. Once I actually got up, I doused the bright red wood pieces with water and watched as the steam rolled up after the sizzling noise reached my ears. I then buried the remains.

Running continuously for two straight hours was taking a huge toll on my body. Sweat was rolling down my face and my breathing was well passed the ragged stage. Itachi stopped suddenly and I, while not paying attention, smacked into his back.

"I think it's time for a break." He offered when he looked at my pathetic form.

"Oh, no. That's not necessary." I bent over as I tried to make the airflow to my lungs normal. I unstrapped my water bottle and gulped down over half of it. A few minutes later when I felt more composed, I apologized. "I'm so sorry. I told the Third it would be rash to bring me along. My body isn't endowed enough for this...exercise."

"It's okay, I understand." He said as he propped up against a tree. "Maybe we can walk the rest of the way, I'm sure the Hokage will understand concerning the predicament." I felt humiliated. I was over a hundred years old and I wasted all that time loafing around. My body should be more equipped for this haggard lifestyle. It's a shinobi world after all.

"No, no. Just give me a second."

"Or," Itachi began again, "I could just carry you. It'll be faster for me, and easier for you." The heat crept up my neck slowly and settled on my cheeks for a deep, pink blush. Itachi smirked and walked closer to me. "You want too?" I sucked in a breath of air and blew it out when I rammed into his shoulder to get passed him.

"Uh, n-no. That's completely absurd!" I hurriedly jumped up to a waiting branch and tried to calm the pink-turning-red blush down. "C'mon, let's go, Itachi! We don't have all day!" It was sad of me to say so, but I've never had any man, or in Itachi's case, boy, interactions besides mainly the Third Hokage. When I lived with my clan, I was only around women, for it was impure and unholy to converse with men before the "talking" stage. That was when the elders would pick your life partner and you'd have a couple of months to get to know one another before marrying. I never reached that part of my life, my kekkei genkai forbidding me doing so because of how long I would live.

We arrived at the neighboring village a day early; my embarrassment fueled my speed for over half of the journey.

"Sumiko, go to the inn and ask for a two bedded room, I'm going to go talk to the leader of this village. Rest up a bit and when I get back with any information we'll head out. The rogue could be heading towards the Sand Village's direction, which isn't looking too good for us if he is." I nodded and began to walk through the tiny village, Itachi seemingly disappearing.

I was in the hotel room by myself for a better part of the remaining day. I took a long, needed shower and then fell asleep. I woke up to Itachi shaking my shoulder with a box in his hand. The smell of food wafted through the air, and made me immediately sit up.

"I decided to pick up something small since we didn't eat this morning. We need to hurry though, the leader, Daichi, said that a messenger boy followed the rogue and sent a scroll of his current location. He's about a days worth away from reaching the border between the Leaf and Sand."

I allowed Itachi to carry me on his back, only because it was needed, and we arrived at the rogues camp in a short amount of time.

"I think there's someone residing with him." I murmured in his ear when I felt an extra chakra signature.

"Yes, it's the messenger boy."

He was hiding behind a rather large rock with a dove perched on his shoulder. A tiny note was tied around its leg. Itachi silently landed beside of the boy, who in return gasped.

"Relax." I heard Itachi whisper.

"Are you the ninja called here?" The boy asked. He stood up from his crouch and threw his bird into the air.

"Yes." Itachi said in return. The boy nodded and crouched back down to our level.

"He's alone, and from what I could tell he doesn't have many weapons on him. In the village he showed he could handle ninjustsu pretty well. I'm not certain on his genjutsu and taijutsu, though." Itachi put me down on the ground gently and activated his Sharingan.

"Thank you, I'll be back in a second." I stood up and followed him from around the rock. The rogue was large in size but short in height. He had no hair, and from what I could tell, hadn't took a shower in awhile or changed out of his rugged clothing. He hadn't realized we were here until Itachi purposefully stepped on a stick and caused it to crack. The man shot up quickly and eyed Itachi.

"And just who are you, Leaf scum?" He must not of noticed his Sharingan. "I said, you little bastard, who are you?" In a flash Itachi was in front of the man and was looking into his eyes. "U-Uchiha." Was all he muttered before looking around him. The man pulled out a kunai and threw it at him, but Itachi quickly moved out of the way. He then grabbed some shuriken out of his weapon pack and threw them, again watching as Itachi deflected them. "Enough!" He started to run, building up speed to barrel into Itachi.

"Agreed." Itachi muttered, sidestepping him at the last second. I watched as he twitched his finger, and seen how the rogue stopped while his body tightened up in fear. While the man was in his frozen like state, Itachi skillfully maneuvered himself and grabbed the scroll sticking out of his bag. Then, he walked back to the rogue and hit him in the back of his neck, knocking him out in the process.

"Aren't you gonna kill him?" The boy asked.

"No, I'm taking him back to your village and seeing what the leader wants to do with him. It's not my right to decide."

"Okay.." He said back hesitantly. Itachi nodded once and grabbed the man and threw him over his shoulder.

"Sumiko, walk with the messenger boy. I'm going to go ahead of you guys and wait for you."

"Be careful." I say with a smile. Again, Itachi nodded.

"So, are you a ninja? I noticed you don't have a headband." It's been about an hour of walking now and we still had a few more hours to go.

"No, I'm just an acquaintance of Itachi on this mission." The boy nodded his head and sighed. "What's your name?" I decided to ask after a couple minutes of silence.

"Makoto."

"How long have you been a messenger boy? You look pretty young." I felt slightly intrusive, but it was better than being in complete silence.

"I was fifteen when I started. I'm eighteen now. My father was one before me, and his father before him, I guess you could say it runs in the family. What about you? What do you do for a living?" He asked.

"I mostly just run errands for the Hokage, sometimes help him make decisions."

"Wow, must be pretty good pay." I smiled and nodded.

"It is, yes, but I do it because I owe it too him." The rest of the walk was met with continuous chatter of the things going on in our lives, and before we knew it, we were back in the village.

;

"How was the mission?" Hiruzen asked.

"It was very short... And very quick. There was hardly even a fight. Itachi just looked at him and it was basically over." I was astounded by how well Itachi could control genjutsu. He barely put any effort into it and he was finished.

"He's quite remarkable isn't he?"

"Yes, definitely. The rogue wasn't close to a B rank, though. Most likely a C." I reached over and handed him the report. As soon as we got into the Hokage building, the Third immediately sent him on another mission with a squad; him being the captain.

"Did he kill the rogue?" I shook my head and grabbed a nearby chair and sat across from him.

"No, he left it for the village to decide what they wanted. In the end they ended up killing him instead."

"Itachi is a kind soul. Very peace loving. He doesn't kill unless absolutely needed." Hiruzen read over the scroll and sat it on the table. He then grabbed a stamp and stamped it, afterwards putting it with another stack of documents that were also stamped.

"I know, I'm very fortunate to of met and befriended him. I'd be very devastated if something would happen to him." He nodded his head in agreement and sat back in his chair.

"I told you there was no need to worry." He spoke through his gravely voice.

"I know." I agreed with a smile.

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/24/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Has anyone ever told you, Itachi, that flattery will get you nowhere with a female?" I questioned when I took a big whiff of the sweet, but bitter smelling red rose. "What is it that you want?" Itachi grimaced before allowing a bright red blush take over his features.

"I don't want anything, I was passing by the Yamanaka Flower Shop and thought that maybe... maybe you would want flowers or something."

I stuck the rose back into the bouquet of mismatching flowers; daffodils, lilies, red roses, white roses, and daisies. The sent they emitted was outstanding and delicious. It was tempting to let my saliva run out of my mouth and drip down my chin."Oh, well thank you. They're beautiful." That was the first time I had ever seen Itachi smile so big. So pure and genuine.

It was like I watched his chest puff out in pride.

I giggled slightly at the boastful Itachi and took a seat on the soft grass to watch him begin his daily training activated his Sharingan and stole a quick glance at me, the blush still remaining on his cheeks. "Do you, uh, want to train with me?"

"I don't know, I haven't held a weapon in many years." A kunai was held slack in Itachi's hand ever since he gave me the flowers.

"It's okay, I can teach you." My body felt hesitant. My mind also. The last time I ever handled a kunai was when the Warring States was still going on, and only then because I needed _some_ kind of protection."I... Fine." I sat the bouquet of roses on the ground and pulled myself up.

"Come here, get beside me." I walked over to Itachi's right side and stood there, looking straight ahead at the six targets set up in front of us. I felt him go behind me slightly and put the kunai in my right hand. He grabbed another from his pouch for a demonstration. "It all depends on how you're attacking your opponent. For defense, you'll want to hold it this way.." He trailed off his sentence to show me how he positioned his kunai; the dagger side lining up with the side of his arm. "Keep your arm at an angle in either the front of your chest or your face, and don't let the sharp side touch your arm, there would be a chance of it cutting you. Widen your stance where your feet are shoulder length apart from each other. It'll come naturally to you once your body gets used to the positions." He grabbed two more kunai from his pouch and handed me another. "If you're defending yourself it's best to have two weapons for double the protection, whether it be say, I don't know, a sword or, like this, another kunai. Keep your arm bent lower into the groin or stomach area held either with the blade following your arm or normally facing forward."

I followed his orders and stood still, waiting for his evaluation."Don't stand so stiff, it'll be harder for you to block oncoming dangers when you can hardly move your body. Keep your torso bent forward in a more ready-to-spring stance and keep your body loose." After a bit of readjusting, Itachi nodded his head in approval with a small smile. "Great, now on to throwing." He got into the same position, except with his left leg slightly behind him. He flipped the hold on his kunai until the blade was facing forward. "All you need to do now is aim and throw with the strength you think it needs." He swiftly threw the kunai and it hit in the middle of the red dot. "You try."

With a steady stance, I flipped my own kunai forward and threw it. I watched as it soared through the air before landing pitifully a foot from the target. "Uh.." I mumbled quietly. Embarrassment lingered on my face, and I cursed myself once again for not training adequately like I should've in the past.

"It's alright, try again."

I blew out a stream of air and took the same stance as Itachi did, re-positioning my left leg behind me for leverage. I tossed the kunai in my left hand to my right and held it close to my eyes, trying to coordinate my arm with the target. After a couple more seconds, I finally threw it and listened to the lightly distinct _thwack_ of the weapon connecting with the wood of the target. I grinned in excitement but soon frowned when I saw where it was placed. At the very bottom it was barely sticking to the wood and fell down to the ground once it lost it's balance.

"Well, it's better than the last time. Maybe the third time will be the charm." Itachi handed me another kunai, and following what I did before, I aimed a bit higher in hopes of a better chance of it actually embedding itself in the wood. It flew through the air before striking the second ring, but fell after a few seconds from not having the correct amount of force while being launched.

"This is a bunch of bullshit!" I seethed out in frustration. I seen Itachi holding out another to me with an indifferent look on his face. Growling, I threw the blasted thing with all my force and watched it sink deeply into the first ring, right beside of the big red dot. "Finally!" I huffed out when I wrapped my arms around myself. Laughter could be heard softly, obviously trying to be contained, before beginning to get louder until it echoed in the morning air.

"I'm s-sorry. That was just really enjoyable to w-watch." Itachi laughed out, bending over his knees with his hands on his thighs.

"Well, I'm glad you find my fails funny." After a couple seconds I began to laugh also, tears gently gathering at the edges of my eyes. It was nice seeing him act like a normal child; enjoying the small things around him. Once we finished, I sat back down on the ground and stared up at the black haired prodigy.

"You know what, Itachi?"

"What?" He questioned back while waking over to the target to gather up his missing kunai.

"I'm really proud of you, not only are you a splendid shinobi, but a splendid person as well. I wish there was more of you out there."

"But there is, you just have to look into the right places. Something that you're probably not doing." Itachi's red eyes stared the targets down before he threw all the kunai at once. Every single one hitting directly in the middle.

;

Itachi was deep into his training, going as far as moving away from me to make sure none of his fire jutsu got anywhere close to harming my body. While patiently waiting for him to finish, I turned the page of the romance book I was reading and fanned the rough smell of burning leaves from my nose. I was so engrossed into the novel that I didn't notice Itachi approaching me after a couple hours, sweat running down his face and a slight tear in the black shirt he was wearing.

I heard him take a seat beside me, and smelt the sweaty aroma that practically hit me in the face. Choosing to ignore it, but crinkling my nose up a bit in disgust, I turned to the last page of the book and enjoyed the wonderful ending that took place. A few minutes later, we found ourselves looking at the sinking sun, an orange glow radiating out through the landscape.

"Want to go get something to eat? It's getting pretty late." He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"I just want to rest a bit." He sighed deeply in content. "I'm going to request for the ANBU forms and sign up. I think I'm ready." He mumbled after a bit of silence passed.

In return, I nodded slowly. "I think you are, too. You have been for awhile now." He started to pick up grass and throw them in front of his relaxed body.

"Honestly, you give me courage to want to do it. I mean, sure I've got skills, but wanting to protect you is the more important matter. ANBU can teach me stuff that being an ordinary shinobi can't."

"I feel honored you think that way, but, Itachi, protecting yourself and your family should be what matters the most right now in your life. Worry about friends at another time when it's actually needed." I threw my book softly at him and stood up. "C'mon. You need all the food you can eat, you've been training quite well today." I smiled as he took my hand while also grabbing the flowers he got me and the book I threw.

"I know, I know." He muttered when we began walking.

He took me to my apartment and waited patiently outside while I filled a vase up with water and stuck the flowers in one by one. Then, I changed my clothes and hurriedly met him, watching as he talked kindly to an older woman passing by.

"Sorry it took so long." I apologized immediately when the lady left.

"No worries."

"Anything you can think of that'll cause your taste buds to dance with desire?" I questioned when we reached the middle of the village.

"How about some rice balls?" He answered, bumping into me gently.

"Sure, whatever you want."

"Or we could just go to my home. Mother has been really wanting to meet you. Sasuke, too."

My steps faltered, as did my heart. A wave of anxiety washed upon my spine and I shuddered internally. Itachi wrapped his arm around my shoulders and brought me to his side.

"Don't be nervous, Sumiko, everything will be fine."

;

The Uchiha Compound was bucolic almost. Sakura trees were at every other place, blooming elegantly in the mid-spring atmosphere. It wouldn't be long until the pretty, pink flowers conflated. Already a soft aroma wafted through the air because of them. Once I walked passed a few of the houses that had the trees planted in there presence, I changed the direction of my sight, and took to looking more around me instead. A couple of the clansmen still roamed around in the dusk, stopping what they were doing to speak or wave to Itachi, some even bowing. In return, he would either nod or produce a small, fake smile. It was clear he didn't like the attention.

Soon, we reached the biggest house in the complex, in the middle, but still secluded by many plants and trees. Itachi was about to open the door when I quickly reached out and prevented his hand from touching anything.

"Are you positive I can be here?" You could hear the hesitation practically drip from my voice.

Itachi grunted before nodding."I can't find a reason why you cannot show yourself here, you've done nothing to the people of this clan, so stop feeling so apprehensive. Relax." He opened the door and stepped aside to let me walk in first. I swiftly walked by him and timidly waited for him to come in. Pitter patter of feet echoed throughout the house, and a small child with a large smile adorning his face ran past a doorway and into Itachi's legs. His head shifted and through mounds of black hair, round eyes peaked out to stare at me. I offered an awkward smile and wave, then watched as he let go of Itachi and moved behind his legs, attempting to hide his tiny body. "Sasuke, go and introduce yourself to our guest. Don't be rude."

At his older brother's command, he slowly came from behind the protection of his legs and stood before me. I dropped to my knees, which then caused Sasuke to back away slightly.

"Hello, Sasuke, I'm Sumiko Keiko. You sure are a cutie." Sasuke giggled with a small blush spreading across his adorable face.

"You're really pretty." I involuntarily laughed and sent him a big smile. We stood at the doorway for a bit, talking about how awesome and cool his big brother was, and pretty soon I was wrapped around his little finger. I brought him in for an embrace after awhile, and when he wrapped his arms around my neck, I stood up from the ground, and in return, his legs tried to wrap around my waist to keep his balance.

"Why, thank you." I said when Sasuke clenched a handful of my hair and commented how it was soft. His blush was as red as a tomato, so he hid his face into my neck. I smiled and looked at Itachi. His held a deep grin, too, then gestured for me to walk with him with a roll of his point finger. Assuming we were going to the kitchen to meet the rest of his family, I took a reassuring breath and followed along.

A beautiful woman, whom Sasuke looked exactly like, was walking to the kitchen table with some sort of bowl when she spotted Itachi and I. Sasuke wanted down, so I carefully sat him on his feet and watched as he ran to a seat at the table. Then I let my eyes wonder to look Itachi's mom and looked her over again. A glow seemingly came from her body; full of love for her children and a kindness I've never felt radiate off of someone in such a cruel world. It made me want to walk up and give her a hug and ask just how she could look and _feel_ so... _calm._

"Hi, I'm Mikoto. Who might you be?" Her voice was nice and sweet, a kind aura settled around her. I knew she actually knew who I was, but for the sake of not being rude, she asked. My tense body relaxed some and in an attempt to smile, a lopsided grin took over my features.

"Sumiko Keiko. You have a beautiful home." The decor was stunning.

Mikoto smiled and said, "Thank you." I nodded and inched closer to Itachi. "Itachi speaks very highly of you. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a crush. Every night at dinner he talks about his time with you, I've never heard him speak of someone with such fondness before."

Itachi made a choked noise before he anxiously looked down at me."Mother.."

"Oh, hush. Look at that grin on her face. I probably just made her day. Besides," She walked closer to her son and pinched his cheek, "who wouldn't want to be crushed on by my handsome boy." Itachi grunted and turned his head away from me. A chuckle escaped my mouth at his amusing behavior and I grabbed his arm to bring him closer to me. I could see a blush taking over the back of his neck. I wrapped my arms around his sides and brought him in for a hug. He broke free and put an arm around me in return."Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Itachi, your father will not be present. He's at a meeting till later tonight." He nodded and grabbed my arm to drag me up a set of stairs.

"Itachi!" A small voice screamed while running to us. "Will you take me training?"

Itachi took his point and middle finger and poked Sasuke in the middle of his forehead."Not tonight, Sasuke. We just got back."

The little boy pouted and crossed his arms."You said that yesterday.." He kicked at invisible rocks.

"How about you come with Itachi and I in the morning to train?" I piped up. Sasuke's face brightened before he nodded his head and ran back into the kitchen.

"You didn't have to do that. He would've got over it."

We were in the middle of his bed sitting while facing each other. I shrugged while picking at the blanket scooted over on the edge.

"It's not like it'll hurt anything." He sighed and lied back against his pillows, closing his eyes.

"No, but he'll pester you. Sometimes he can get a little overwhelming." I looked at his face and took note on how much he's grown since I first met him. His birthday should be coming up within two months.

"That's fine. His adorable face makes up for it." He cracked an eye open to look at me, then once again sighed. "Oh, don't be jealous, Itachi. You're adorable, too." I reached to pinch his cheeks like his mother did, and laughed.

"I'm not jealous." He stated, glaring at me with his blush coming to again. We stared at each other and slowly his eyes softened.

"Do you have a crush on me, Itachi Uchiha?" I teasingly asked. His eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Mikoto's voice yelled at us to come downstairs to eat. I narrowed my eyes and wiggled my finger at him. "Don't think you got away, we've got the rest of forever for you to answer me." I laughed when we exited his room. He looked at me with a smile.

* * *

 **Thank you, _VampireKnightgrlKiwi_ for the review. I honestly felt the exact same way, that's why I wanted to try and improve this story. I'm so glad someone finally pointed it out, too, because it makes me want to try even harder to make it better. So, thanks so so so much! (:**

 **Updates will not always be this quick, I just happened to finish fixing this one early. Hope you enjoy, and leave a review telling me what you think. Love you all!**

 **~findfaith**


	3. Chapter 3

Since Itachi was on a mission, I took the time to search for a gift for him since his twelfth birthday was right around the corner; exactly two days away. Conflicting thoughts on what to get continuously plagued my mind. Who knew trying to give something to someone that means a lot to you would be so hard.

I entered an antique shop, full of old knives and swords. I was in there for what seemed to be hours; testing and checking out anything that he might have liked. After coming across a rather popular artifact often, I decided on one of the first ever made kunai. Bulky in stature, I picked it up and held it like how Itachi taught me, deciding whether or not he could actually use it. On the handle, kanji symbols were engraved spelling out strength and virtue, and an old cloth wrapped around at the base before the blade started to sharpen out. I looked at the price and groaned slightly. "Oh well, I could always gain my money back in a time span of a few months. Plus, he'd really appreciate this."

Taking the kunai to the front desk, I ignored the disapproving glances from the woman ringing me up. When she asked for the money needed, quite rudely I may add, I slid it onto the smooth surface of the table and quickly grabbed the plastic bag once she handed it to me.

"Happy birthday, dear Itachi! Happy birthday to you!" I sang out with glee, watching at he blew out his candles and then stuck a finger into the frosting. "Itachi! You have to wait!" I grabbed a knife, then walked back over to him to cut up the chocolate cake. "I also have a present for you."

"That really wasn't necessary. This...isn't necessary."

"I understand that, but I also understand you are but a child still. You need to loosen up and act like a kid and enjoy your time." I finished with cutting then quickly ran to my closet and got the bag with the kunai out. "This came from an old antique shop at the edge of the village. I really hope you like this." I placed my hand in the bag and pulled his present out. Nervously, I reached it over to him and watched as he fiddled around with it. "So..do you like it?" He didn't answer, but instead got up and walked straight to me. His arms were tightly across my back in a matter of seconds.

"I love it. Thank you, Sumiko." A warm smile appeared on my face and I felt myself slowly wrapping my arms around him also.

"Congratulations on becoming an ANBU member, too. I'm so proud of you." His face sank deeper into the junction of my neck, and I could feel the soft breathing escaping from his mouth.

"Thank you so much."

* * *

 _*roughly a year later*_

"That's inhuman, are you really going to allow this, Hiruzen? There are different measures to take!" I felt particularly disturbed when Danzo began to speak of different ideas. They were the most cruel things I've ever heard escape from his mouth.

"You are in no position to tell village leaders what can and cannot be done. The decision is final." Danzo stood by the doorway, his one eye visible glaring at me with much distaste.

"I don't give a fuck about what position I am in! We are talking about taking innocent lives here." Disgust was evident in my tone of voice. I stood up from the desk and walked to the evil man. "If I wasn't important in this conversation then I wouldn't be in this room. And since I am here, I have a say."

"If you stand in the way of the protection of this village then I will have you cut down, too."

"That is enough. Both of you sit back down." Hiruzen commanded. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sat back and watched the scene unfold, deep frowns on their faces. Shisui Uchiha was crouched down in front of us all, keeping a close eye on Danzo and I.

"How are you allowing this? Do you people not have one ounce of humane left inside of your worthless bodies!" I screamed out. "And how _dare_ you to threaten the lives of this boys family because you're too dense!" I said, pointing at the corrupted man.

"The decision is final." Danzo repeated, walking to his designated seat. His cane clacked with every other step, and the echoing noise pissed me off even further.

I turned to the Third Hokage and the other two, hurt building up deep inside my chest. I wanted to let it loose, but the burning desire was talked down upon by the rational side of my brain. "How could you let this happen? If this goes into effect, I will lose all respect for every one of you."

"Please, wait, Ms. Keiko." Shisui pleaded with me. Once he got my attention, he faced the Hokage. "I think I have an alternative. There's a plan I'd like to try, if you'll let me."

"A plan, you say?" Hiruzen questioned, immediately interested.

"This is a waste of time," Danzo said, "There are no other options right now."

"Well, if you'd shut up for five minutes and let the boy explain, then maybe you'll see that there is other ways to go about this." I shot at him. He narrowed his eye at me and was beginning to say something when the Hokage started to speak again.

"What is this plan, Shisui?"

"I will use my Mangekyo Sharingan on the clan." He stated. Everyone looked shocked, surprised he'd want to use his owns clans kekkei genkai. The corners of my mouth swiftly lifted up at the way things would go if this really worked. No one would have to die mercilessly, and things would certainly be more peaceful.

"Do you truly understand what you are saying?" Hiruzen demanded. "You'll forever be branded with the sin of using the jutsu against your own clan."

"I understand." Shisui said with his head bowed down. "But still, it's worth it to protect what I hold dear. Lord Third," he begged, "please!"

Hiruzen closed his eyes and sighed. "If you believe in this, I won't stop you. Do what you must."

"Thank you, sir." He said gratefully.

"However," Hiruzen stated, "you may step back and cancel your plan if you change your mind. Remember, there is still some time for all of us to think of other alternatives. Understood, Shisui?" He nodded his head and left all of us with silence.

I watched Danzo stare Hiruzen down before he stood up and walked out of the room. Shortly after, Homura and Koharu followed behind him.

"I don't trust him." I told the Third as soon as the door closed. "Danzo is going to do something inexcusable. I can feel it, and I hope you do something about it before what he does taints this village."

"I understand your concern, because I'm feeling the same thing, too. But for right now nothing can be done about it. We just have to see what will happen."

I clenched my fists. "Hiruzen, if we wait, who knows what he will do."

"Like I said," he stated, "right now nothing can be done about it. There is no proof to go by."

A few moments of silence drifted by before I began to talk again.

"If Shisui's plan doesn't work, are you really going to allow an extermination to be bestowed upon the Uchiha? I understand that their plan is unforgivable and very dangerous for the citizens of this village, but there is also people in that clan that have no _clue_ what is being arranged. It doesn't give anyone, especially Danzo, permission to put innocent people to death over something their council is doing."

"I would never choose to do something like this, you know that." He said, the gaze in his eyes showing me the deep hurt and anguish this was causing him. Trying to go about away that was best for the village was making things difficult. If the Uchiha's plan went into action, we would be in a civil war with other nations taking advantage over it.

"I know, but you are Hokage. You make the final call about everything that happens in the Hidden Leaf. You can't let Danzo, or even Homura or Koharu influence a decision like this. You need to make that clear to them. Also," I continued as I stood and headed for the door, "make sure you keep an eye on Danzo. I think he's going to bring the Foundation in on this. Don't let him ruin Shisui's plan. We need to see if it can be accomplished."

;

It was days like this I found myself standing in front of Mikoto's home; thinking of every possible negative thing that has happened in my life, and just talking to her to hopefully clear my mind. But this was one thing I could never have myself say to her. To never have myself talk about to anyone. Sasuke seen me staring at his home, most likely like he does every day, and waved. The hand gesture was caught hesitantly from the corner of my eye, and when I looked, I tried my best to give the most convincing smile I could muster up to the eight year old. I watched as he continued to practice what ever he was trying to get down correctly before I sighed and walked up to the door, quietly opening it and walking to where I knew Mikoto was.

She was sitting at her dinner table, sipping tea and looking through a magazine she must have recently picked up. I joined her, and her being the motherly type, got a cup, filled it with tea, and asked how my day had been.

"About as decent as it's going to get, I guess." I took a sugar cube and dropped it in the drink, it slowly broke down and mixed within the hot water. I went to get another and watched as it repeated itself.

"Is something bothering you?" She sat the magazine down and looked at me with worry.

I stared her in the eyes, the soft, innocent eyes. The eyes that never judged me despite how I was viewed around the village. _And lied_. Blatantly lied through my teeth, and I was disgusted with myself. Disgusted with everything.

;

Itachi was depressed, confused, and conflicted. He spent the entire morning with me, telling of the wickedness Danzo performed. I knew he'd make some kind of a move, and Hiruzen and I was too late to detect any possible proof. Surprisingly, when Itachi was explaining Shisui's death, he didn't shed a single tear, but I knew he must have done enough of that on his own time. I was deeply saddened, though; Shisui was a magnificent shinobi and it was a shame to see him pass on so young because of all of this. And it was a shame Itachi felt it was a problem he had to solve on his own. Talking about it did no justice, so I let him stay with me instead, to comfort and possibly spend the only time I had left with him.

He left early in the morning, only to show up again once the sun was beginning to go down.

"They believe I killed Shisui." He spat out, showing how truly angry he was about the situation. "If they'd stop worrying so much about the clan then none of this would have happened. Shisui wouldn't be dead, and I wouldn't be forced to act out in protection of the village."

"Itachi," I forced him to sit down so he'd listen to what I had to say, "you don't have to do anything. Maybe I can get another meeting started about this and continue to think up other ways to-"

"Who knows what Danzo would do, then. He'd probably get you killed for defying him." We stared at each other for awhile before he sighed and looked away.

"There is still time, Itachi."

"No, there isn't." He stated. I looked sadly down upon him. "I managed to keep Sasuke out of this. Please, would you watch after him for me?"

There was no way I could deny him, so I simply nodded my head yes.

* * *

I seen the sweat continuously pour from Sasuke's drenched face. It dripped soundlessly to the ground, and instead was replaced with the familiar _thwack_ of metal slamming into wood. The sun had already went down, and the only light he received was the constant shinning of a full moon. Like every night, I sat with him until he tired out completely and carried him home.

After the massacre, Sasuke was visibly traumatized, so I moved him thoroughly out and away from the Uchiha compound and in with me. Whatever Itachi said to him that night affected him more than anything else that happened. He quit interacting with people for a few months, going as far as not going to the academy and sleeping all day instead. Just when he was going to be diagnosed with depression, he hopped back into gear. He quickly caught up in his assignments, and trained vigorously in replacement for how he was truly feeling.

It was when he was around ten years old that I could notice a change in his attitude. He was angry, and took it out in the most unhealthy way: isolation. He knew I was there for him, and he knew that he could come to me for anything. In all of my years of living, I realized if I wanted him to heal, it had to be on his own without me constantly asking if he was okay. I was aware of that answer, he didn't need to tell me because I knew how it was to lose everyone you loved. To lose a family.

Some nights he would crawl into bed with me, and hug me tightly while he cried his soul out. It was one of the most painful things I've had to experience in my lifetime, and I would never wish to go back and relive it.

* * *

 **You know, I asked myself while fixing this chapter: Why didn't Itachi use Shisui's eye when he gave it to him? Why didn't he go along with Shisui's plan and make things easier on himself? I'm not far into the Fourth Shinobi War (I watch dubbed version), and I got to the episode where the crow comes out of Naruto's mouth and stopped the jutsu Kabuto was controlling Itachi with. If it could stop the jutsu, then why didn't he just use it in the beginning so he didn't have to go through all of that? Genuinely curious about that, so if someone would like to explain, you're more than welcome to.**


	4. Chapter 4

The moon was high in the night sky, glistening brightly as it looked down upon the Fire Country with glory. I lied against the cool, dewy grass, my arms tucked under my head and my legs crossed. The fireflies lit the tree tops and the ground, blinking with an orange glow. A sigh escaped from my mouth, and a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Every thought fled from the depths of my mind, and a new type of peace cleansed my body while I happily basked in it.

A crunch of a limb broke, and I clenched my eyes in agitation at the serene being broken. Slight rustling sounded, so I sat up and watched as Sasuke came out from the shadows of a nearby tree. I fell back on my elbows and looked at him.

"What are you doing up at this time, Sasuke? You need your rest. Especially since you have practice with your new team tomorrow." I could see him shrug his shoulders before he walked over and sat down. "Something on your mind?" I questioned when silence clung to the air. Again, he shrugged. "Well, if you aren't going to speak, you need to go back to bed."

"Is Kakashi any good?" He asked. I looked at the side of his face and frowned.

"Kakashi Hatake? Yes, he's very capable. One of the best shinobi in this village." I told him, speaking my words with truth.

"He doesn't seem it. Naruto pulled a prank with a chalkboard eraser, and he fell for it. Plus, he was a few hours late to meet with us." I grinned and put an arm around Sasuke's shoulders.

"Believe me, he knew it was there. And be prepared to deal with that, he might come off as lazy, but he'll teach you a lot. You just have to trust in him."

"He shouldn't of made such a terrible impression on our first day then. He should've showed up on time just like all the other jounins." I could practically see him glare into the night. "I don't have time to waste on someone who won't teach me properly if he can't even show up on time to something as important as meeting his new team."

"Sasuke, stop complaining and appreciate what you have. Kakashi is about as good as it's going to get if you are wanting a sensei with power. You aren't going to get powerful in a week of training, so remove that thought from your head." I scolded.

"But I need someone who actually cares to train me. I need someone who can get me the power I need to defeat Itachi." I sadly looked at the moon and then closed my eyes again, leaning back and tucking my arms back under my head like before he made an appearance.

"Go back to bed, Sasuke." I whispered.

;

Crickets could be heard all around and the faint smell of the earth wafted in the air. I was seated on the cold slab of stone that had the names of the people who died in battle engraved on it, and watched Kakashi Hatake stare at the names. His eyes lingered on a certain one; Obito Uchiha.

It saddened me to look at him, I could discern the longing in the eye he showed. Obito was a wonderful child; a little dopey, but good nonetheless. I knew Kakashi blamed himself for his and Rin's deaths, but I wish he could see that it was just the fate of life. I understood completely what he was feeling; all the kids grew around me at the time Minato was their sensei. They seen me a lot because of him. When news of Obito's death hit my ears, I felt completely broken. Then Rin's made me realize that I had to start straying away from people. I was beginning to get attached again and I felt so foolish. But I felt like an even bigger fool when I didn't get to watch Kakashi grow into what he was today, and spend more time with Minato before he passed on.

I always regretted my decisions. I never made a right one before now; taking care of Sasuke. Though, I feel as if I could've done a better job at trying to raise him, but I bet all guardians of children felt that way.

Silence sang greatly in the absence of words being spoken. It was the way to show respect for the fallen. Kakashi, after awhile, sat down at the bottom of the Memorial Stone.

"Chunin exams are coming up soon. I'm going to give them the applications." He lazily mentioned.

"Are they actually ready for that right now?" I questioned once I jumped from the top of the stone. I landed on the grass in front of him and sat down.

"I think so." I sighed and stared into his visible eye. "They've come a far way. They're stronger than you think."

"They've progressed a lot, yes, but won't this weigh them down? They might feel obligated to do this just because you offered it to them."

"It won't hurt them to experience a little bit of loss. Everything will be fine." He stated, smiling.

;

"What is this, Kakashi?" I questioned. Sasuke had a black, intricate design on the junction of his shoulder. His face contoured in pain when I slightly grazed the mark with my finger.

"It's a curse seal. Orochimaru branded him with it while he and the rest of the team was in the Forest of Death. I tried to seal it away, but I'm not sure if it will hold." We both stared at the boy lying helplessly in the hospital bed.

"Orochimaru just wants his Sharingan. What other reason could he possibly want to do with him?" I asked. I was beginning to get worried; if Orochimaru somehow convinced Sasuke to join him, then he will do it, no doubt. He'll see it as a golden way to gain the power he thinks he needs to defeat Itachi.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Sasuke stays safe. If he can fight it off like Anko did, I'm sure things will be fine." Kakashi assured.

"Anko? What does this have to do with her?"

"When Orochimaru was her sensei, he ended up giving her the same curse seal. In the end she fought off the powers that came from it."

"I don't think Sasuke will fight off the power it permits." I solemnly stated.

"We won't know until the time comes." Kakashi knew just as well as I did how Sasuke's mind worked. And how Orochimaru was so conniving; he'd stop at nothing to get what he desired.

;

I was suppose to of seen Sasuke after he finished healing, but news from Naruto said that Kakashi took him somewhere to train until the Final Round. I had no objections towards it, only that I wished he would have contacted me instead of just taking Sasuke away. And because of it, I didn't see Sasuke almost a month after Naruto and I spoke. Once that month finished up, the Final Round ended, and the attack on the village by the Sand and Sound shinobi was over with, I spent all the time I could with Sasuke.

"What if you taught me some stuff you know about being a shinobi?" I questioned when we were outside; he was graciously helping me water a small garden I managed to grow.

"Don't you know it already?"

"Well, not precisely. I know how to handle kunai, but the only thing I'm actually good with is detecting chakra signatures. Even then it's difficult." I propped the hoe up by a supply shack and stared at the tween.

"I guess. When do you wanna start?" He put away the shovel he had and sat on some concrete blocks by the apartment building.

"Now, if you wish."

"Do you have any type of chakra control? Can you walk up trees, or across water?" He questioned.

"Um, no." Once again, I felt ridiculous being so old with no experience in such a harsh world. Sasuke sighed and pointed to a thick tree that was surrounded by many more.

"Climb that tree using no hands." He commanded. "You have to focus your chakra to the soles of your feet. Too much with cause the bark to collapse. Too little will cause you to fall."

"Right." I called out, taking a deep breath.

I almost felt bad for the tree. It was caved in in more places than not, and was missing over half of its bark. I took some more of Sasuke's advice, and because of it, the tree was sliced from basically the bottom to the top. By the time nightfall came around, I was bloody and sweaty, trying to capture some oxygen in my lungs.

"Take a break, you've been at this since this evening." Sasuke commented.

"I heard what you and Naruto did. How you accomplished this task. I, too, shall push myself. It's what I deserve anyways." He rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm.

"C'mon, Sumiko. You're finished for the day." Reluctantly, I followed him inside.

;

It was early morning and I still hadn't fallen to sleep; I was still curled up in my blanket, desperately wanting to pass out. Some nights were difficult to get a rested sleep, nightmares would plague my mind. I've tried numerous methods of deep sleep, but it's as if nothing would help. Tea, healing sessions, _pills_. Nothing worked and I fear nothing ever would.

Itachi was starting to form into them, just like all the other times I slumber with him on my mind. He'd reside well into the same deep, heavily shadowed cave getting tortured along with my feeble body. I couldn't protect him. The only person in this forsaken world that I cared for was groaning, and moaning, and _screaming_ in pain, and my body wouldn't move to shield him from the horrors. Every once in awhile a light would show, and I could see his sweaty, pain stricken face, and in the real world I could feel my stomach turn at the sight. Even if it was illusions of the mind, I felt so helpless.

I groaned and decided to just start my day.

"You know, you need to visit the Third Hokage's grave. I didn't see you at his funeral." Sasuke mentioned when I walked from my room. I managed to slip by a few days without him being brought up in conversation, and I sighed in sadness when it finally happened.

"I know. It's just a little difficult for me right now." I was around Hiruzen since he was a child training underneath the Second Hokage. He had become my best friend. It was only natural that I felt hesitant to visit his grave; it hadn't truly sank in that he passed on. I wouldn't _allow_ it to sink in. It hurt to think I'd never get to see his face in person. I wouldn't get to see him smoke his pipe, or have dinner with him. Nothing.

"I'm going to go venture around, do you have training today?" Sasuke shook his head while trying to quickly finish a tomato on his plate. "Alright, do as you want, just don't cause any trouble." He smirked and nodded. I smiled in return and turned to leave.

For my late breakfast, I decided to head to a nearby tea house; they had the best muffins and coffee in the village. When I walked in, I took a seat near the front and waited to place my order. In my time waiting, I noticed two figures dressed alike in a long cloak donned with red clouds, and a straw hat to hide their faces. I kept staring, quite noticeably, until the one seated on the outside turned their head to stare back. I cringed at being caught so quickly, but when they moved the hat slightly up to show their face, I gasped at the red Sharingan staring intently back at me.

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/24/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	5. Chapter 5

It was beautiful to see; his eyes. I made my heart leap for joy. I felt as though we were in a staring contest, though the only reason I was gazing so intently was because I missed the warmth that they shown deep inside, and me adverting my eyes to the left broke the wonderful memories seeping up. Kakashi was staring at him, obviously recognizing who he was. I saw Asuma beginning to show up, and with a glance, both of them began to wonder off. Itachi, too, watched as they left. I went back to looking him over and smiled at how he'd grown. He was practically a man now, and it showed.

I took a deep breath and blew it out gently. I was really hoping Kakashi didn't mention what he seen to anybody. Itachi needed some type of peace to grasp on to inside the village he protected.

Itachi stood up and walked to the counter to pay for the meal he and his companion had, and then walked over towards me. He stopped briefly and looked at me.

"Meet me at the bridge." I grasped on to the cloaks long sleeve to keep him from walking off.

"I'm leaving with you, so be prepared to have me tagging along."

I could tell he was hesitant, but after a moment of thought, he began to take a step and nod. Once he was seated, I threw some money down and quickly left the tea house.

Nothing was on my mind besides picking up a few sets of clothing and stuffing them into a pack. I then placed all the money I had saved up in the middle of the kitchen table for Sasuke to have. I sat the key down and looked sadly at a picture hung up of Sasuke and I. I wasn't even going to tell him I was leaving. Maybe it was for the best I didn't.

;

I didn't even make it to the bridge, and it looked like Itachi didn't either. When I came upon him and his friend; Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai was engaging in a battle with the two. Kakashi was in the water telling the other two not to look into Itachi's eyes, and then he passed out. Then, Might Gai barreled in out of nowhere to play hero. Itachi backed off, letting a wince take him over. His friend, Kisame, I believe, said something to him and then quickly came to me and threw my body over his shoulder.

"Hey!" I yelled out. "Easy, would ya?"

"They got Sumiko!" I heard Kurenai shout when we started to leave. The big guy stepped it up a notch and pretty soon we made it out of the village.

I stayed on his shoulder for at least two hours. They both ran nonstop until we were completely out of the Fire Country, which I don't understand how Itachi was doing it since he was obviously hurt in some way. I listened to the crunching of the earth and tree trunks below the big guy's body weight, and watched as stray leaves flew every which way because of the speed he was going.

I ended up falling asleep for I was woken up quite harshly when the big blue man dropped me to the ground. I glared up at him and pulled myself into a sitting position and then proceeded to look at the surroundings. There wasn't much to see; it was dark and whatever light the moon released was blocked by the thick trees.

"Where's Itachi?" I questioned when I noticed his presence was gone.

"He'll be back soon, went to get some water." We sat in silence for the longest time and I was beginning to feel awkward.

"So, uh... You don't talk much do you?" I asked. He let out a deep chuckle and stared at me with a grin. He showed a row of razor sharp teeth that seemed to gleam in the night air, and I shuddered.

"Oh, sweetheart, I want to lavish you right now to be honest. Feeling the curvature of your body when I was carrying you was so _sexy_. But Itachi asked me not to talk to you, so I'm not. I respect his reasoning's, and looking at you I guess I could understand them." A bark of a laugh escaped his mouth when he took notice of my facial expression.

"That's absolutely disgusting." I seethed out while crossing my arms and turning my back to him. The rest of the time we spent waiting for Itachi was in complete silence. A small hoot of an owl sounded every so often and the fire flies lit beautiful orange glows as they flew by. I tried to stay away from Itachi's companion as best as I could; I've dealt with men who think like him, and I wanted no chance of being harmed. Not only is he a ninja, but a _huge_ one at that. Who knows what he's capable of. Unless someone was here with me that I trusted, I want no one that gives off a bad vibe around me. His aura was dark, I could feel it. He wreaked of chakra, too, there had to be something with him to harness that much; it was so intimidating. It rolled off him in literal waves. Whatever it was that he carried must be a great asset to him.

A crunch of small twigs alerted us both that Itachi was coming. Immediately he appeared, carrying two canteens, which I assumed was filled with the water Kisame said he went to get. I stood up quickly and walked to him with a smile. Itachi looked at me, paused, and then started to walk passed me. My smile faltered as I watched him. I turned around and walked back to my spot by a large tree, and sat down. I frowned while playing with a lone stick lying by my leg, and listened as Itachi threw pieces of wood in a bundle. I looked up just in time as Itachi made fast hand signs and blew out a flame, lighting the wood into a fire. His fingers moved so quick that it was a blur to my eyes, and I felt astounded. I've spent too much time away from him. I've almost forgotten how amazing he was.

Kisame quickly fell asleep, which I was very much thankful for. Itachi stayed awake and was staring intently into the flames.

"He-" I was cut off pretty quickly by his voice.

"I am fine. Don't worry about me." He said quietly.

"How did you know I was going to ask that..?" I was curious, did my actions shout out my question before my brain could process it and let them come from my mouth?

"You've been staring at me for awhile now with that same expression on your face." I huffed quietly. I didn't know I was so predictable.

"Why didn't you smile back at me? You used to all the time..."

"I didn't know I had to. And besides, what's the point in doing something if it's going to be fake in the end?"

Anger shot through me and I stood up in a rush. "Just like what the elders are doing?" A twig that was in his grasp snapped in half. "They told everybody that what happened was because you had this fucking... I don't know, surge of power you wanted to test. You know that right?"

"Yes. It's what I told Sasuke."

"And speaking of Sasuke, I found out recently that," I lowered my voice, "Orochimaru gave him the curse seal."

"I know that." Everything he said held no emotion. Did he not care?

"What is wrong with you? Your little brother is basically being _hunted_ by a psychotic monster and all you can say is that you know? Are you not going to do anything about it? Why the hell won't you tell him the truth?" My fists clenched together at my rising anger while he calmly stood up and walked closer to me.

"This is between me and Sasuke. Let me deal with it the way I want to." I held my breath as he kept coming closer. "I've missed you. I've missed when you'd get angry and tell me what to do. I've missed the fire in your eyes when you spoke your opinion with such revere, but right now, with you bringing this up, it's _annoying_ me. _You're_ annoying me."

I had no idea what to say. I stared at him with my mouth agape and probably shock and a little hurt written all over my face. He never talked to me that way. In fact this was the first time I've ever heard him even talk like that. In the background, I noticed how Kisame rolled over and stared at Itachi with a slightly surprised look on his sleepy face. Apparently he never heard Itachi speak like that either.

"Fine, Itachi." I turned my back to him and walked off to my tree. I lied down and rested my head against a root that was sticking up from the ground, my back facing him to make it noticeable I was finished with the conversation.

* * *

"Sumiko went willingly, she put up no fight whatsoever." Kurenai said while looking at Kakashi's resting body.

"We need to worry about Naruto first. They're trouble," Gai mentioned, referring to Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, "but from the look of things, it doesn't appear they found Naruto yet."

"That's what's crazy, it doesn't add up. I mean, they had already infiltrated the village. It should be _easy_ for them to find him around here. Besides, Itachi knows Naruto's face already." Asuma stated, pulling himself upon a table and taking a cigarette from his pack.

"Shh."

Steps could be heard coming up the stairs, and soon Sasuke busted through the door.

"Kakashi." He began. He stopped short when his eyes rested upon his sensei's fallen form, then gazed around the room. "Why is Kakashi asleep? And why is the room full of jounin? What are you doing, what the _hell_ is going on here?" He demanded.

"Uhh, not.. much.. really." Was the hesitant reply. The door swung open again, Aoba's voice filled the tense atmosphere before he could notice the warning stare Gai shot to him.

"Hey, is it true that Itachi has returned and took Sumiko? And that he's come here to get Naruto, too?!" His unawareness of Sasuke's presence was diminished when he finished his sentence. Sasuke shot passed him and went out the door. Aoba stared after him with his mouth open.

"Why does this always have to happen?" Gai questioned angrily.

;

"What are we doing here, Itachi?" I asked when we stopped at the gates of a town. Even though we left the Fire Country, we ended up coming back into it and heading here. He went on as if ignoring me, which fueled the anger resting deep inside from last night. "Fucking answer me." I demanded while grasping onto his arm. "I'm sick of you ignoring me, so talk to me when I ask something!"

"We're here to get the Nine Tails." He stated calmly, grabbing my hand gently and unclasping my fingers from his cloak.

I jerked my hand from his grasp and looked at him strangely. "Why are you after Naruto? And why is he here?" Kisame grunted and continued forward, going past us and the gates into the lit up community. "Itachi-"

"It's business."

I glared into his back and crossed my arms. "Whatever." I mumbled while following them were on top of a random building looking down upon the townsmen walking around. I spotted Naruto's blond hair immediately, followed by a tall man with long, white hair. "Is that Jiraiya? Why is Naruto with him of all people?" I asked quietly to myself. I didn't suspect that anyone heard me, so when Itachi spoke, I jumped in my position.

"Jiraiya has been training him."

"How do you know?"

"Just do." His calm attitude this entire time has been getting on my nerves. I narrowed my eyes at him and looked away.

"I'm getting very tired of how you're talking to me, Itachi." He didn't say anything, but I noticed from the corner of my eye that he turned his head slightly to look at me.

Nothing else was said, and when evening time quickly approached, Itachi put a genjutsu on a beautiful woman to distract Jiraiya from Naruto. We saw him give Naruto a room key and say something to him before he started to walk out with the girl under his arm.

"That disgusting perv, I should've known he'd do something like that! He should be keeping watch over a child in such a crowded environment!" I seethed out while looking as Jiraiya continued to walk away.

We followed Naruto after a while of waiting, and was closing in on a hallway that had a dead end. It was apparent that Naruto's shared room was through one of these remaining doors.

"Why are you coming after Naruto, Itachi? What could you possibly want with the Nine Tails in him?" Again, he ignored me and continued walking. I went to grab the back of his cloak, but Kisame jerked me to a stop. I fumbled around a bit so I wouldn't land in the floor and humphed in annoyance at the brute.

"Kisame," Itachi said when he acknowledged the commotion behind him. "don't touch her." Kisame grinned but nodded his. We continued walking until Itachi stopped short at a certain door. As if he was casual about the whole thing, he knocked a few times and waited before he started to knock again. I sighed impatiently but perked up when I heard Naruto's muffled voice.

"Okay, hold on. Let me just unlock it." The door opened up and Naruto and Itachi stared at each other for a second.

"Hard to believe such a child carries the Nine Tailed Fox." Kisame said when he walked around Itachi to stare at the quiet blond.

"Naruto, you're coming with us." Itachi commanded. "Why don't we take a walk?" Naruto stared, but slowly started to walk out of the room.

He caught sight of me and frowned."Sumiko?" He questioned.

"Itachi, it'll be a pain in the neck if this kid takes a run for it. Maybe I outta chop off a leg just in case." Kisame commented while reaching for his sword, ignoring the boy's address to me. Naruto gasped in fright.

A few seconds went by without anyone saying a word, so Kisame stepped forward. "Right." My heart lurched as I took a step towards him, like I could stop anything this giant could do.

"It's been a long time," Itachi murmured out of nowhere, "Sasuke." It was me this time who gasped and then stopped in my tracks.

"Itachi Uchiha." Sasuke whispered lividly. Naruto copied his words but in a more shocked way.

"Well, a Sharingan, and he looks an awful lot like you. Itachi, who is this kid?" Kisame asked with a sadistic smile.

"He's my younger brother."

"That's strange because the way I heard it, the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out. By you."

"Itachi Uchiha, I hope you're ready to die. It's just as you said brother, I fostered my hatred for you all this time. I've lived my life for one single purpose," He angrily spat, "to see you die! It ends here!"

"Sasuke!" Naruto bellowed.

"Enough! You're dead! Aahhhh! Die!" He screamed while running, and his chidori made a deep trail while he was heading for his brother. His movements were quick, and in a short amount of time, Sasuke was in front of Itachi. An explosion was heard and dust scattered everywhere, and when it all settled, my eyes caught sight of Sasuke's wrist captured in Itachi's hand.

"Itachi, stop!" I screamed out while trying to run towards Sasuke. Kisame caught me by my neck and held me still.

"Sumiko?" Sasuke asked. "Itachi, you bastard! Let her go!" The wind picked up and an eerie feeling came from behind us. A strange cloud of orange chakra rotated around Naruto's body and then surrounded it. I quickly looked back to Sasuke, who tried to pull away from Itachi's grasp. In one swift movement, he turned his hand and broke Sasuke's wrist. He screamed in agony, while I screamed at Itachi.

"What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted when said boy fell to the ground. "Alright, that's it!" Naruto bit his finger and started to make hand signs.

"Too slow." Kisame said while swinging his sword in Naruto's direction. When the sword slashed through his orange cloud of chakra, it all disappeared. "Sorry kid," Kisame began when Naruto started to nervously struggle to gather up more of the Nine Tails chakra, "my blade Shark Skin cuts through chakra and devours it. We can't have this kid whipping out anymore jutsu. Instead of cutting off his legs, maybe I should start with those arms of his." Naruto closed his eyes tightly and held up the same hand sign. "You're wasting your time." Kisame declared while raising his sword. When he started to bring it down, a white cloud shadowed Naruto and blocked it. "What the..."

Naruto's face appeared in shocked when the whiteness started to disperse. A frog clad in armor had his arm up, holding off the blade meant to hit cloud appeared behind him, and began to talk.

"You two don't know me at all do you?" Questioned a voice. "Should've done your homework." The white cloud disappeared and showed Jiraiya standing there with the woman from earlier draped over his shoulder.

"Why don't you run, Sumiko?" Sasuke questioned, still laying on the ground. The rest of what Jiraiya was saying reached the back of my ears.

"I.. I don't want to, Sasuke." I admitted softly. He looked up at me with pain filled eyes.

"So you came with him willingly?" Hurt resonated in his voice. "Why? How could you do that to me?" Tears started to form and fall steadily down my cheeks.

"I honestly didn't mean to hurt you, you don't understand."

"Understand what? He murdered my entire family! There's nothing to understand, Sumiko. You're just as bad as him! You betrayed the Leaf Village!" I shook my head and knelt down to him.

"No, Sasuke, they betrayed him." I pulled him into a hug and let my tears run down onto the back of his shirt. "I love you, okay? But please understand that things are not what they seem. I'll make sure one day you find out." He pulled from my grasp and scoffed.

"How can I trust anything that you say?"

"Ah! Don't give me that!" Sasuke and I both turned our heads to look at a screaming Naruto pointing his finger at Jiraiya. "One wink from a pretty girl and you turned into a mountain of mush! You fell for it like a ton of bricks, Pervy Sage!"

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that in front of other people." Jiraiya commented, his hand scratching at his back.

"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto questioned then turned around to face Itachi and Kisame to point his finger at them. "We got worse things to think about than what these guys think of you! Get with it, Pervy Sage!"

"Didn't I just ask you not to call me that?!" Jiraiya yelled back at Naruto. I dried my cheeks and then rolled my eyes and waited for their bickering to end.

Kisame started to chuckle, "Whatever name you go by, Master Jiraiya, I must say, you're something of a disappointment. A lecherous old man with a disposition of a child. It's almost impossible to believe that you are one of the Three Legendary Sannin."

"Whaaat?!" Naruto bellowed. "You- You already know who he is?"

"Uh, don't be fooled by appearances, or yanno, anything this little squirt might say." Jiraiya sheepishly said.

"So, you somehow managed to release the genjutsu we cast on her, ey?" Kisame questioned.

"What kind of coward would do something like that?" He sat the unconscious girl down then stood back up. "Using his Sharingan to inflict an illusion jutsu on an innocent woman, all in order to separate Naruto from me. I know that he's the one you're really after." He said, talking about Naruto to Itachi.

"That explains how Kakashi knew." Itachi said. "Now I understand, he learned it from you. You're right, Naruto is the prize the Akatsuki is after, and we will have him."

I took a step back from Itachi, he was starting to make me nervous. He sounded so dark, so corrupted. He didn't seem that way back at the tea house, why did he all of a sudden change? And Akatsuki? Who's that?

The frog in front of Naruto puffed away in a cloud of smoke."No way you're getting Naruto," Jiraiya declared.

"We'll see about that." Itachi retaliated.

"Actually, this is all very convenient. I can eliminate you both at the same time."

"Stay out of this." Sasuke's voice croaked. My line of sight went back to his shaky form standing up. "The only one who's going to eliminate him... is me!"

"Go away, you don't interest me at the moment." My eyes widened before they narrowed into a glare. Where the hell did this sucky ass attitude of his come from?

"Well get interested!" Sasuke growled while throwing a punch at him. Before he could get a hit in, Itachi raised his leg and kicked him in the stomach, making him fly across the hallway. He slammed into the wall with a grunt and sunk down. Instincts took over and I started to run to make sure he was alright. This time, however, Itachi put his arm out in front of me and forced me to stop.

"I swear, Itachi. You better not hurt him anymore than what you've already done." I whispered in a warning tone. He took a moment to glance at me then looked back down the hallway.

"Sasuke, no!" Naruto yelled while taking off at the man beside of me. "Damn you, lousy-"

"No, Naruto! Don't butt in, mind your own business!" Naruto stopped running and stared at Sasuke. "I told you before, I've lived my whole life for this day, this moment. This fight is mine!" He activated his Sharingan and charged at Itachi. He pushed me aside before Sasuke got too close and then waited for his little brother. Sasuke punched at him, but Itachi blocked it and threw his own, knocking him back. He cried out as he once again got slammed into the wall. "I'm not finished." He mumbled out in pain. "This fight is mine."

"So be it." Itachi said with his eyes narrowed.

"You heard him old man, this fight is none of our business." Kisame commented when he moved his sword in front of a moving Jiraiya. "Let's let the two of them sort it out."

Itachi walked to Sasuke's collapsed form and looked down at him."Finally!" Sasuke yelled when he got close enough. Itachi punched him in the stomach and kneed him in the face when he bent down, then once again hit him in the stomach. Blood spewed from Sasuke's mouth, and I so badly wanted to go and protect the little boy I've come to raise over the years. But there was nothing I could actually do. He'd say the same things to me as he did Naruto.

"You show him no mercy." Kisame said with a smile.

"Go to hell!" I shouted at him, wanting desperately to wipe that grin from his face.

Sasuke landed on the ground and stayed down. Itachi picked him up from the collar of his jacket and rammed him into the wall.

"You're still too weak." I heard him say. "You don't have enough hate, and you know something? _You never will._ " Sasuke's eyes shot open as he stared deep within Itachi's. His body grew stiff and soon after a pain filled scream tore from his mouth. Kisame murmurer something, but the horror washing into my veins from the terror in Sasuke's scream blocked out most noise from registering in my mind. Jiraiya shot passed me, and Kisame quickly followed; their movements caught my attention. I turned back to look at Jiraiya, and he was making fast hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Toad Mouth Trap." In a blink of an eye, a pink, sticky looking membrane covered the hallway of the hotel. Everyone looked around with confusion written into their expressions. It started to latch on to Kisame's foot, and Jiraiya smirked. "You've both just been swallowed by the mountain toad. Welcome, my friends, to the belly of the beast. He has a very sensitive digestion track, be careful to not upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, is it?" He questioned. "It must be humbling to know you've been reduced to toad meat. Hehehehe."

"Woah, I'm not liking this at all." Naruto said flabbergasted.

"Naruto, stay still," Jiraiya commanded. "Just remain calm. Trust in my jutsu."

Itachi look around, then locked eyes with me. "Kisame, get Sumiko and come." Kisame broke free and quickly came to me, scooping me up in his arms and running to Itachi.

"It's useless!" Jiraiya yelled. "No ninja has been born to survive this powerful stomach." While we were running, the pink membrane began to come after us. I looked back as Naruto shouted out my name, but his appearance was blocked.

"There's a wall of flesh coming after us." Kisame warned Itachi. "It's too fast, we won't make it. It's no use." He fought off some of the flesh and began running again. In the process of all the movement, I ended up in Itachi's arms. I watched as he closed his eyes and opened them, "Amaterasu!" He whispered. Black flames shot out and ate at the flesh, causing light from outside to pour in. The blood running down his cheek was prominent, so I wiped it away unintentionally.

"So we just run away again?" Kisame asked when we got ways away. "We do a lot of that."

"There's no rush for now, we'll get Naruto when the time is right. Besides, I felt it wise for us to find some place to rest for awhile and recharge my powers."

I was passed back to Kisame, and like a child, clang helplessly to his back while thinking of the pain Sasuke might be enduring right now.

* * *

 **Sorry it took so long to update. A LOT of stuff has been happening around here and I had no time to mess with this story.**

 **Anyways, here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoyed, and drop a review to let me know what you think. I also fixed Rin's name in the last chapter, forgive me, I didn't know I was misspelling it.**


	6. Chapter 6

The cave was found shrouded by the greenery of the forest around us. Vines stretched across the top entrance, and weeds grew all in the front. I felt unsafe, like some creature would decide to crawl out after us and attack. My arms tightened around Kisame's neck involuntarily as we got closer. It was dark and moist inside, little droplets of water ran down the sides and dripped from the ceiling. And the _smell_ lingered in the back of my head, staying engraved within the folds and wrinkles of my brain.

Kisame dropped me to the ground, and a loud thud echoed within the walls. I hastily pulled myself up and watched as both Itachi and his companion sat themselves comfortably.

"I don't think it's safe to stay here.." I muttered out. The light was steadily fading away, and the dusk air was beginning to get a bit chilly. If we left now, maybe there was a chance of stopping at another inn and resting for the night.

"There's no money, this is the only option we've got." Itachi said in return.

"Maybe someone will be nice enough to let us stay in their home?" Hope leaked out of my voice, and Kisame smirked.

"Doubt it, kid." Internally I scoffed at the moron and his oblivious knowledge of me, but I made no move to say anything out loud. Itachi's lips quirked up a little before once again pulling into the deep frown he's had since we left the Leaf Village. A sigh escaped passed my lips as I wished to stare longingly at him. "I'll keep first watch. Itachi, you rest yourself."

As the darkness clouded over, the chirping of bugs filled the gap of silence.

;

"Who is the Akatsuki?" I've been wondering this all day since he brought it up at the hotel.

"It's a criminal organization made up of S ranked ninja. I honestly don't think I'm going to take you there, you don't need to be around those types of people. They're too dangerous." He grabbed a twig and put it up to the fire he built awhile ago, watching as the flames licked up it.

"Then where am I suppose to go? What was the point of me coming here if I can't even be with you?" I glared at the side of his head, clenching my hands into fists. It was bad enough he was giving me the cold shoulder.

"There's this small cabin at the other end of the Fire Country. It's hidden with a genjutsu, and I go there a few times a month. It's where I stay when I look over the village, you, and Sasuke." He turned his head to look at me. "I'm debating on taking you there."

"But I want to be with you, Itachi. I mean, it's why I came with you. Seeing you every so often isn't fair, you didn't tell me anything." My chest started to hurt, and my throat began to burn with the clogged up tears I wouldn't let rise.

"I understand that. I hardly ever stay with the Akatsuki unless Pein needs something from me anyway. I'll stay with you and leave when needed. Does that sound fair?" His face produced a small smile of reassurance.

That was the first time in over four years that I seen that smile. It wasn't like how it used to be, I didn't expect it to be. But, at least it was something.

"I've missed you a great deal, Sumiko. It's such a relief to sit here with you." I poked the fire and grinned a little.

"I've missed you, too."

"I guess what them records said was true, after so long you haven't changed in your appearance a bit."

"What records?" I questioned immediately.

"On the background of your clan. They were in the Land of Waves. Though, when I was returning to Pein I brought them with me, do you want them?" He asked.

"Yes, of course!" _Damnit, Hashirama. You swore to never let any information I gave to you, go._

;

I was from a steadily dying off clan that soon completely vanished after the founding of The Leaf Village, and was one of the three remaining Keiko to of inherited the kekkei genkai that was rarely passed down through the generations, making me the first, and last, recorded clansmen to posses Miyoko in over three hundred years. I never met the other remaining two, they split from the clan years ago when it was still flourishing.

No one really knew where the Keiko clan originated from, there has never been documents stating if we branched away from another clan and just prospered to what we had become, or just had random ninja come together to have us created. Some of the elders used to tell tales of how an exceptional ninja married into a powerful noble family that specialized in healing. Others say how we were just formed by a blessing from Kami herself.

The Miyoko is a special type of kekkei genkai that many people never even knew of back in the days. It wasn't until around my time of birth more people became aware. They waited for the next person to be born with the life changing gift to take advantage of, but they never got that chance since I was hidden from the outside world. It resides deep in the chakra network, and once activated stops the growth of most cells and tissue, and completely ends the life process of the organs; leaving you ageless. It doesn't mean you are immortal, any lethal blow could kill you just as it could anyone else. But it's harder to heal a Miyoko. Since the activation stops most cell reproduction, no blood cots can be formed and the live cells you do have escaped from the wound. Blood transfusions were taught specifically for this.

Aiko Keiko was the first person to have complete control over the Miyoko, and because of the wisdom and strength, she became a priestess. It was said that a loved one of hers died, and in exchange to have them back, fused her Miyoko into that dead persons body and brought them back to the land of living. In the end, she aged onward from the point she stopped at, and had the loved one at her side. Aiko ended up dying naturally later on in her life.

;

 _* one week later *_

Multiple times I've read the documents spread out in front of me, but no new information presented itself. I rubbed my eyes and then closed them in agitation, listening to Itachi's soft breathing as he rested on the only bed inside the cabin. A headache was beginning to pound against my skull, so I squeezed my eyes tighter, hoping that the pressure would disappear along with all of my jumbling thoughts.

The bed squeaked, and I could hear Itachi gently walking towards me. "You need to rest, Sumiko." My eyes opened and I stared at the steadily burning candle, it's flame dancing merrily, and it's cherry red wax forming a puddle as it melted down to a short stub, essentially killing off the small fire.

"I don't want to. I need to figure out who wrote all of this."

"You can figure it out in the morning, it's getting late. Your eyes are bloodshot and your yawning woke me up."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you." I said softly. He grabbed my arm and lifted me from the hard seat. It creaked and groaned in relief, while I grumbled about my sore butt. "Stupid chair. You need to upgrade this place." I informed him. He smirked while nodding his head.

"I'll be sure to let you do whatever you want to it."

"Damn straight." I teased, crashing harshly to the bed.

"Shhh. Go to sleep." He murmured while situating my tired body and then slipping his own beside me.

"Goodnight, Itachi."

"Goodnight."

;

I hated starting anew, and I knew this was exactly what I was doing. But it felt different. Almost... _lighter_. A warm light shown through one of the windows and settled on Itachi's face, slowly going further up it as the time ticked by, and I _knew_ I was already happier sitting here, staring at his soft features, than I was living in the village. I almost felt selfish thinking that I wasn't bothered by leaving Sasuke. But he had friends, he had his academy teachers. Itachi had nobody, all until now. And nothing can take me away from him.

I quickly began my quest of finding out who could have put such detailed information in the documents -Hashirama knew not even half the stuff that is written on here. There was no way he could've wrote _any_ of this.

 _"The Miyoko begins to wear the body out when it approaches the three hundred year mark. The body can no longer function correctly, nor the chakra network that supplies the Miyoko with certain benefits. Once the body exceeds the age mark, the chakra network will slowly break down the Miyoko and restore life to the cells in the veins and all the vital organs. The white blood cells will then attack the organs that did not restore to life, which will cause the body discomfort, or in some cases, major problems, unless the organs are removed before a detoxification occurs to cleanse out the body and rids of the problem."_

"It's amazing what your kekkei genkai can do." I heard Itachi mention over my shoulder. I jumped in surprise and looked at his face.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't know there was basically a time limit until it dissolves." I turned the page over and read a little on the back. "It's really astonishing. I knew that it was possible to revive someone, but if you have complete control over it, you can revive up to three people. You just have to have some type of deep connection to them. You actually have to _want_ to save them... And it says here," I stated, pointing at a certain paragraph, "that the Miyoko doesn't actually leave your body when you first revive someone. A little of the power instead goes into that specific person, and the rest stores inside of the wielders body until the next save. The only downfall to that is that the body begins to age again like a normal human would."

The elders of my clan never mentioned this, but it was possible that they just didn't know. These were written after the end of my clan, so it makes sense that no one had said anything about what was written on these papers.

"What of the soul, though?" Itachi asked, pulling up another rickety chair to sit beside of me.

"I'm not sure to be honest. Maybe it takes time for the soul to leave the body? Or maybe there is no soul. Who knows?" I gathered up the documents and put them in a file. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes." Came his reply.

;

"What is this? A paper lantern?" I asked, touching the lit up beauty hanging on the roof of the miniature porch attached to the cabin.

"Yes. Do you like it?" Itachi pondered, walking closer to me.

"Yeah. In my clan it means eternal life. They were hung up everywhere within our community. The flame is suppose to represent the Miyoko and the exterior is suppose to represent the body. Once the flame dies, the lanterns were left inside the houses to grow old with the family members who lit it."

"That sounds like a meaningful tradition." He said while lighting up the rest that were hanging.

"It was. Every member had the potential of having the Miyoko, if they didn't, they still had exceptional medical powers. In a way I guess the flame of the lit lantern could mean that it is the determination they had at saving lives. Often if the patient didn't make it, or even if they did, they would blow the flame out. Either in despair or happiness. It's basically what made my clan, well, my clan." It was times like this I really missed having a family. Even though I don't like how they hid me away, they were still my flesh and blood. And without the reassurance of having someone of the same origin of me, it made me really sad.

"Why such a long face?" Itachi asked. I shrugged. I can only imagine how he feels about not having anyone anymore.

"You're my family now, Itachi." I declared, staring at him. He froze and stopped what he was doing. After a few seconds I thought I said the wrong thing, but seeing a small smile grace his lips, I knew I didn't.

"Yeah, exactly."

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/24/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	7. Chapter 7

After pondering for a few days after looking over the documents about my clan, I decided to ask Itachi if we could travel to the Land of Waves to see if there was a possibility of any living Keiko members residing there.

"I don't see a problem with going." Itachi replied, looking over the directions on an instant ramen cup.

"You won't be busy, will you?"

"No, not at all." In the several weeks we had been staying in the cabin, Itachi had slowly went back to normal. He didn't talk to me like he did when Kisame was with us, so I figured it must have been a type of cover up for himself.

"Well, when do you want to leave?" I wanted it to be as soon as possible so the curiosity would leave my veins.

"Tomorrow, if you want."

;

We set out early the next morning, trekking through the thick forest. Surprisingly, we arrived earlier than I thought we would; we showed up at a dock, a boat tied up to be held in place.

"How long will it take to get across?" I questioned when we settled ourselves comfortably inside the boat.

"A few hours. Shouldn't be longer than three or four." Itachi pulled a book from his black jacket and leaned back to read it. He removed the Akatsuki cloak and his headband before leaving the cabin, not wanting to draw any type of attention to us. He even put his hair in a higher ponytail, but I didn't really think it suited him well. It didn't frame his face correctly, and just plain ol' didn't look right since I was used to it in a lower position.

I sat back and closed my eyes, awaiting for our arrival.

;

The library at which Itachi retrieved the documents no longer existed, instead, it was replaced with an inn since apparently the defeat of Gato a few years ago brought in more attraction to the island.

"It has been a good few years since I've been here. Stuff like this is natural in popular towns. If we'd want to see any private documents then we'd have to go to the Water Daimyo and request them. Things like that aren't allowed to be displayed to a high amount of public eyes." Itachi mentioned when we were walking along the shore of the waters.

"There's no point in that. You even said so yourself you gathered all the documents about it. Lets just ask around instead and see if any citizens know of anything." It made me so happy Itachi was helping me with this.

"Excuse me," I politely interrupted a store clerk and an old woman, "do either of you have the knowledge of someone living here with the last name of Keiko?"

"Actually," the old woman said after awhile of thinking, "I do. Cho Keiko, she used to live here well over a decade ago. Very nice woman."

This perked my hopes up, "Do you know where she is now by any chance?"

"Before she left, she mentioned going back home to start over. So wherever her home is, is where she went." The lady replied with a warm smile.

"Thank you so much." I said graciously.

"Do you know where she's talking about?" Itachi questioned when we walked through town.

"Yes, absolutely. When the people of my clan ended up with the Miyoko, they traveled a lot. They never really settled down, I was an exception. Home is the starting point. It's where my clan used to reside before they died out."

"And where is that at?"

"The Land of Mountains." I said with a grin.

"I've never been there before." He mused.

"Not many people has. It's not very popular. Awhile back there was a small village there, but another village wiped it out. I haven't been back since the construction of the Leaf Village many years ago."

;

Again, we were at a small village near the Fire Country, staying at a poorly furbished inn. It was dusty, and spider webs hung in the corners.

"This is very unsanitary, Itachi." Itachi had been short of breath the entire time coming here, having to stop a few times just to suck enough air into his lungs. Staying here was bound to make whatever was wrong with him worse.

"It'll be fine." He commented after coughing. He quickly wiped his hand onto the back of his pants and sighed. A little bit of blood ran from out of his mouth, and he brought his shirt up to wipe it off.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to check you?" I questioned when he lied down on the only bed in the room.

"Yeah. Don't use a lot of chakra. It kind of hurts my chest."

"How long have you been sick?" I asked quietly after I used my medical powers. I made him sit up and take the shirt he had on, off.

"It's nothing to worry about, I've had it for a few years now. I think I first got it when I started the academy, though. It's just gotten worse." His face scrunched up in slight pain, his hand holding his chest.

I narrowed my eyes and held him up straight. "I need to listen to your lungs, breath deeply in and out, slowly." he complied. I pressed my ear against his bare back, not once getting shy and awkward in my serious state. "It sounds like you have fluid in your lungs. It actually might be blood since you're coughing it up." I sat back and stared at him, analyzing his body. I don't know how I didn't notice it before, and I felt ashamed to admit it. He was pale and slightly bony. With his clothes on you couldn't tell, but in his sickly state such as now, it stood out like a sore thumb. "Do you know what's wrong?" I asked after observing him.

"I've been to a few doctors. They aren't for sure, but they think it's a different kind of cancer. They don't know how to fix it."

"I'm going to run my chakra through your system-"

"No, Sumiko. Don't." He objected, attempting to get off the bed. I grabbed his arm to keep him from moving and pursed my lips.

"You are going to sit back and let me fucking check you." I bit out, my voice cracking at the end. He stiffened, but then lied back until his head rested against a soft pillow. "This might hurt for a moment. It's only because my chakra is different from a medical ninja's and your body isn't used to it." I whispered to him. He nodded his head and shut his eyes. I pushed a considerably large amount into his system to find anything that might be happening sooner. I went into his lungs first, nothing out of the ordinary besides the amount of blood that's residing in it and small blood clots running throughout the vessels. It worried me. "Itachi, there isn't a sign of cancer, though you do have clots. Are you taking any kind of medication?" I asked, slowing down my chakra.

"Yes, one doctor I had prescribed me to something, it's in the inside pocket of my jacket." I sighed and stopped the flow completely to get his jacket. I felt around until my hand hit the bottle. I got it out and examined it.

"This is a type of blood thinner, which is appropriate for what's happening in your lungs, but this is a very high dosage. It's why you keep coughing up blood. It's making you bleed outside of your vessels and it goes into the tissue. Who ever the idiot was that prescribed this much to you does not need to be a doctor. Long time use of this can end up killing you. But it doesn't make sense to why you're so sickly. I'm going to have to run my chakra through more than just one place." In my time searching, and countless times running and rerunning my chakra through him, what I found was particularly disturbing on my part. It scared me, and I was pretty sure Itachi knew nothing of this. "Right now your red blood cells are being attacked by antibodies, which is something produced by a certain white blood cell to help with finding bacteria or anything that's foreign to the body. Since it's particularly hot outside today, I'd say this only happens worse when you over heat. Which is very bad since you're a shinobi. You've had this for a long time, I can feel your body trying to fight it off. This is a chronic problem, Itachi. I actually have no idea if you can completely get rid of this. Are you prone to catching any kind of respiratory infections often?" I asked.

My body was sweating, and I was nervous for his answer. This might have the potential to actually kill him if it isn't treated correctly.

"Yes, I get them several times a year, pneumonia is the one I often get. I actually think I'm beginning to get it right now, it's getting harder for me to breath lately." My heart sunk, so I sat down beside of him on the bed.

"This is so bad, Itachi. I've never heard of anything like this, I don't even know if there is medicine for it. Respiratory infections causes the antibodies to attack the red cells even more. I have no idea if this can kill you or what. You produce a lot more red cells since this is happening, too. It doesn't help that you have blood clots in your lungs, they're weak enough as it is." After a bit of thinking, I came up with an idea. "I'm going to see if my Miyoko and get rid of the blood clots and the antibody problem." I grabbed a chair and sat down, clapping my hands and gathering the pent up energy the Miyoko had stored deep in my chakra system.

"Sumiko-" He started, sitting up on his elbow to look at me.

"Stop, Itachi. Let me do this. The Miyoko will be the same, I'm just using it's power." I used my arm to push him back down in a lying position. "I haven't done this in a really long time, so I'm not sure how effective it'll be." I stated when he got comfortable again. "It might burn or it could possibly not hurt at all. But be prepared, this could last a few hours." A nod of his head was all I got, so I began my procedure.

After I used the Miyoko's power, the blood clots and the antibody problem disappeared for a bit. The clots were still gone, but the antibodies were slowly starting to act up again and destroy the red cells. I sat back in my chair and looked at the makeshift medical chart in my hand.

"The antibodies are attacking again. I'm trying to think of any kind of medication that would help it."

"Sasuke will defeat me one day soon anyways, what difference does it make. You'll be wasting your time and energy for nothing." Itachi said with no show of emotions.

I narrowed my eyes and snarled my lips. "The difference it would make would be keeping you here with me longer."

"Everyone dies, Sumiko. It's just by chance that it's happening to me early."

;

The lightening shown brightly, capturing the darkness in a quick beacon of light before it vanished suddenly. It was soon followed by an ear shattering blast of thunder that rumbled the earth and shook the room we were currently residing in. Itachi pulled a chair close to a window, propped his feet up, and opened a book to a page he stopped at when we were at the docks in The Land of Waves. Candles were lit in the corners and illuminated the room in a warm, yellow glow, providing him with the correct amount of light to read the tiny words.

I was in the bed, wrapped up in a tight blanket to protect me from the chills of the storm, and watched Itachi. It's been a few hours since I found out what was going on with him and still haven't figured out what to do concerning medication. Itachi mentioned that while visiting a town nearby, residents were speaking of how the council decided that Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sanin, would be the Fifth Hokage. If I could somehow talk to her and bring Itachi along with me, she might be able to figure out a cure. But with her thinking he is a murderer, I won't be able to get past her train of thought to help. I rested the back of my head against the headboard and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply before letting it all out in a big sigh.

"Are you going to sleep?" I heard Itachi ask a few minutes later.

"No, I'm just thinking." I opened my eyes and watched Itachi move from his comfortable position to walk over to me. I scooted over and he slid in, dog earring his current page and closing the book he had. "What the hell, Itachi." I busted out laughing and reached for the book he sat on the bedside table. All my worries drifted away as I read the title. "Why are you reading something so provocative? I didn't know you were that type of person." It was one of Jiraiya's, the first of the perverted series. He jerked the book out of my hand and threw it to the ground on his side of the bed.

"Um.." His face blotched red, and in an attempt to calm down, he pulled slightly on his shirt.

"I can't believe it! And you're so young, too. Your poor, innocent mind!" I choked out, having to pull the blanket off so I could breath. "That's so funny!"

"Oh, shut up..." He mumbled.

"Maybe you should read to me sometime." I suggested suddenly, winking at him.

I didn't anticipate the answer he gave me, and blushed out of embarrassment. "I'd love to. I'm sure you'd enjoy it." I glared at the proud look on his face but then relaxed and went along with it.

"Yeah, you're right. But, his books aren't really cut out for what I need." He smiled and shook his head with a red tint to his cheeks, putting his arm around my shoulders and tugging me close to his body.

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/24/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	8. Chapter 8

_The clan leaders sat in front of me, staring at me; observing me. Paper lanterns were strung all around the room, the orange glow casting shadows on all of their faces and making them appear almost monstrous. I shrank back in my chair slightly when the head leader, Saburo, stood up._

 _"Sumiko, are you aware of the blessing bestowed upon you?" He ask quietly. I shook my head- how was I suppose to know anything? "The ancient power passed down after so many generations has graced your body; your very soul. Can you feel it?"_

 _I tried to feel, but nothing felt out of place. My heart beat thumped normal, and the deep breath I just took felt like it would any other time. My lungs got filled with air and expanded, lifting my chest out. I felt good._

 _"I feel nothing." I said back after a bit of analyzing myself._

 _"It's only because you are used to the weight of the power. Look a little deeper. The weight, can you feel it pressing down your chakra?"_

 _I flared my chakra and waited patiently for the feeling. It was there, only slightly. I nodded my head and waited for answers._

 _"You just turned sixteen, correct?" Again with a nod. "For the past several years, we've had our suspicions about you becoming the next Miyoko. Your parents have gave you different items infused with Miyoko chakra that have reacted with your own chakra. That would only be possible if you carried the same chakra signatures as the past Miyoko's." The head leader walked over towards me and stood in my direct line of sight. "This necklace I'm about to give you will seal our suspicions completely."_

 _He gently placed the necklace around my neck and clasped it. It had intricate designs all over it, and the lines in between glowed a deep green. After a bit, the entire piece began to emit a bright light._

 _"It is true then. After centuries, we've finally been graced by the presence of a Miyoko bearer."_

 _He removed the necklace and put it inside of a box with seals placed over it._

 _"On your eighteenth birthday, this will be handed back to you. The Miyoko by then should be powerful enough to control. Amaterasu, come."_

 _A woman appeared in front of the door way. She was beautiful, clad in robes that were obviously made for the noble members of the Keiko clan. Her hair was black and in many braids with golden rings placed in different parts of the individual grouped strands. Her face was painted, maybe even tattooed, with thick burgundy lines starting from her temples, and ending in a curl at her chin._

 _"Hello, Sumiko." She said, her voice a velvety soft pitch. I nodded my head in greeting, too nervous to say anything back._

 _"Sumiko," Saburo said, "Amaterasu is your sensei now, she will teach you the basics of the Miyoko. The rest you will have to learn by yourself, for it is too complex to be taught by a non-bearing Miyoko member. I wish your training the best of luck."_

 _;_

 _We walked around the clan village, heading towards the open meadow the Shinobi practiced at. The trail was wore out, making a dirt path to what I assumed was our destination._

 _"We aren't going to the training grounds, Sumiko. You need to be in peace and quiet, to connect to the earth." Amaterasu stated, guiding me down a different path, this one covered in grass that was slightly weighed down with the recent walking on it. I raised my eyebrow and stuck my hands in the pockets of the dark pants I had on. Noticing my movements, Amaterasu looked my way with a smile. "You are much different from the other ladies of this clan. You are the first I've seen wearing men's clothing."_

 _"I don't like kimonos, especially while outdoors. They're uncomfortable." It wasn't a complete lie, I did dislike wearing them outside, but I also didn't like the way I looked in them. I've always been lanky looking, putting on one of those things covered up what womanly curves I managed to find on myself._

 _"I used to think of the same thing, but when I moved up positions, I got to wear more comfortable clothing, like what I have on now."_

 _I couldn't get over how beautiful she was, there was no possible way she felt the way I did while wearing them damned things. Her bust was so big I'm surprised they didn't rip open the wrappings around them. It almost made me feel insecure._

 _"What did you mean by connecting with the earth?" I asked, changing the subject._

 _"The Miyoko is a distant form of senjutsu, which is when you gather natural energy for chakra. But the Miyoko takes a deep proportion of that, and mixes it with the energy that comes from deep within yourself. It's what causes the body to stop functioning correctly, and what causes the organs to shut down. The combination of both the energies is lethal to the human body."_

 _"Then how am I going to survive this?" I was freaking out, I didn't want to completely activate this power if it was going to end up killing me._

 _"Remember, you are the Miyoko now. You are the bearer, it is impossible for it to kill you. If it was me on the other hand, the outcome would be completely different. Where my body isn't equipped to have the Miyoko, I would be destroyed from the inside out."_

 _It was all stupid and difficult to understand. I didn't try to comprehend it anymore, I just had to face the facts that once I activated this power, I'd have to live the rest of my life out watching my family disappear one by one._

* * *

~2 years later~

 _"Sumiko Keiko, it is a great honor to pronounce you the official Miyoko. You have trained adequately for the last two summers, and have gained control of the power bestowed upon you from Kami herself. You will get the Tattoos of Recognition, and be known as the top healer to of ever lived in this generation, and the years before, and the years to come until your own end is upon you." Saburo said joyously. "Let us celebrate to the wonderful accomplishments our clan will always have." He lifted the drink in his hand up before bringing it back down to take a sip._

 _"Ey!" The clansmen exlaimed, repeating his actions._

 _;_

 _I was positioned in the middle of the crowded celebration, sitting in an old wooden chair with my shirt off and my wraps undone. My chest was pushed into the back of the chair, it being the only protection from the wondering eyes of the men. I never encountered young men before, and now that I have, I felt degraded as they looked upon my body with lust hazing their gaze._

 _I was following the tradition of tattooing my body in an ink that would glow when my Miyoko was activated. The ink counteracted with the chakra signature the Miyoko released. The more powerful the dosage, the more powerful the glow._

 _"Where would the Lady Miyoko like the patterns to be placed?" An old woman asked. She was covered in wrinkles, and the kind of old that made you ask exactly how long she had been alive._

 _"I would like them on my back and stomach." I responded, looking around at the people laughing and having a good time._

 _"And have you picked the design you wanted placed upon your body?" She asked again, filling the sharp-edged container with the colored ink._

 _"Yes." I replied with a nod. At that moment, Amaterasu appeared with the hand drawn design sketched on paper with neat hands._

 _"Good, good. Let grandma Michi take care of you now." She said with a smile._

 _"It's going to hurt, Sumiko, but you can't move, alright?" Amaterasu warned. She handed the design to Michi, and covered my chest for me when I was pulled to sit up so the paper could be wrapped around my stomach and back._

 _"I understand." On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I wasn't ready. I hated pain, and the fact that I'd have to sit here for a long time constantly with that feeling made me nervous. Cold water was being brushed up against my back, and I waited patiently for what was about to come._

 _;_

 _It didn't last nearly as long as I was beginning to believe, or as painful. Once Michi wet the paper and got the lines on my body for her to etch, her swift movements with the tool she was using lasted about two to three hours. The only painful moment was when she had to shade in some areas, but that quickly passed with her skillful hands. Everyone cheered once they seen the finished product, and I felt some sort of pride for bearing something that would be permanently incised on my body forever._

 _"You are now marked with the proof of your blessing. Congratulations." Amaterasu said while I was looking in a full length mirror in my room. All the designs put together looked stunning, even on my body. I seen the moon through the widow, and sighed in exhaustion. The night was soon to be morning, and I was dead tired. I was surprised to see sensei here after such a long day._

 _"Thank you."_

 _The silence dragged on, and in that time I slipped on a shirt and let my hair down from the fancy bun Amaterasu put it in early yesterday morning._

 _"People may be happy, but they do not envy you." She said suddenly. She come up behind me and brushed my hair out slowly. "I can only try to understand the pain you must feel right now, try to understand what's going through your head. For the past two years you've trained nonstop to perfect your power, and you've succeeded. But, for the past two years I've seen the agony of what you have to face for the rest of your life."_

 _I dropped my eyes to the floor and let out a sigh. The constant weight over my shoulders slightly lifted once Amaterasu spoke of what was the truth._

 _"The only thing I can do is tell you how sorry I am for you. But pity won't save your virgin eyes from death, and pity won't save your mind from the sorrow you will soon receive. You will never encounter peace for as long as you have this_ blessing _inside of you." She braided my hair until in was resting in the middle of my back._

 _I will be in constant emotional pain because of this curse. The clan leaders may act as if it was a blessing, but it will always be a damnation put into life. I'll be walking in my own hell for the next few centuries._

 _"It makes me so sad for you." She said softly with a frown._

 _"It makes me sad, too. I never asked for this, I don't see how anyone would. The clan leaders act like it is some sort of heavenly power brought down from Kami. But Kami would not cause her people pain for their whole lives, so no, if they can say that it is a gift from the gods, then I can say that it is a punishment from hell." There was no point in being upset; fate worked the way it wanted and all I had to do was deal with it. Nothing could be done about how the world worked._

 _"The clan leaders seem to of forgot what was told to them of the emotional torture a Miyoko goes through. It's been centuries since we've had the kekkei genkai passed down to someone, and I think they are just excited to finally witness such a huge deal concerning the clan." Amaterasu turned me around and hugged me. "You are so wise for your age. The only good thing to of come from this is getting to meet you and getting to know you. I am so lucky to of been born into the Branch House of the clan, for I was trained to be in the life of someone like you."_

 _"I'm so lucky to know you, Amaterasu. I can't thank you enough for always being by my side. You've taught me much, not just about my power, but about life as well. You are an amazing person, as well as a friend. I'll cherish you forever."_

 _We ended our hug with a smile._

 _"Alright, enough depressing issues. It's time for you to go to bed, and time for me to head on home. Goodnight, Sumiko. I'll see you tomorrow evening."_

 _And she left._

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/26/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	9. Chapter 9

My body was crying out in pain; the joints cracking and the muscles burning. It seemed like an endless trek, tiring me from the inside, out. The road to my home in the Land of Mountains was barely distinguishable. Weeds over grew, and the old worn down path was covered over with nature.

"My village was beautiful. The women loved flowers; dozens of each possible kind you can think of was grown by them. The estate was a magnificent sight with so many different colors." I smiled fondly at the memory of my mother dragging me out every early spring to plant around different areas. It was a memory that would be forever ingrained into my brain for those silly days of planting quickly turned into a yearly tradition.

"Would you go back to live your earlier days if you had the chance?" Itachi asked, curiosity leaking from his tongue. He reached out and grabbed a leaf from a nearby tree, picking at the small veins running up it.

It made me think: would I ever go back to that time period? To isolation from the world? It almost made me want to shudder; living that kind of lifestyle can mentally affect you, it was why I was so distant from people. I never learned to get along with them, and once I actually did they ended up dying. So really, there wasn't much of a point for me to try to connect with others.

"No. I couldn't see myself ever wanting to go back in time. Everything has already happened; why would I want to re-experience what I've already had to deal with?" It almost made me sad to say that. Of course, I missed my family and the people I came to know, but the pain of it all makes me want to stay in the present life forever; the past never really crossing my mind. I had already lost everyone I loved. Now, Itachi was my present, and will be my future. That was the only positive thing to think about when it came to the future; since Hiruzen's passing, Itachi and Sasuke were my sole reasons to actually enjoy living. If I didn't have Sasuke for as long as I had, and if I hadn't of gotten to know Itachi when I did, who knows where I'd be right now.

After a couple of hours, we came upon a destroyed village. The wood was charred, indicating that everything was most likely set to fire and burned down. But even with the charred mess I knew exactly what this place was.

"This was the Kagerō Village. The Shinobi from my clan would come here to get weapons since it was the closest Shinobi village to us." I commented, walking past what used to be the houses and buildings. "I wouldn't say this place was overly popular, but it had it's rivals. Once the Hidden villages started forming, it lost some of its people since they left for more opportunities. With less protection, others saw their chance for an easy defeat."

"It was the Leaf Village that done it, though, right? I remember reading something about us being at war with them at one time." Itachi said, looking over the ruined village with me.

"Yes, we were at war with them, but it wasn't the Leaf Village that did this. Another rival village destroyed it before we did any real damage. This happened decades before your birth, it's been a long while. I'm actually surprised everything is still standing the way it is." I mused, taking a stray stick and gently hitting it against the wood of a random house. I sighed softly and moved on to stare at the other destroyed buildings.

"Was you here often?" He asked when he noticed my somber face.

"Not a lot, but I did have a few friends. But that was well before the destruction of this place, they died off many years ago when I still lived at home. It just makes me sad to see the place that used to be flourished, is now crumbled, charred wood." I walked around a bit more, using the stick as a cane. Itachi followed close behind, listening to what I was saying. "I hope the village that did this had at least a bit of decency to bury the bodies. This village used to be beautiful, the people from here would take such amazing care of it."

"It's a shame to see the outcome of a war." Itachi commented when we started to move away from the depressing sight.

"It really is. The Kagerō Village isn't even really a quarter of what war looks like, though." I returned with a frown, delving back in time at the warring states period. So many bodies, so much blood. This little village could never compare with what was on the battlefield. "But, oh well," I said, "let's get a move on, it should be a few more hours until we get to my village."

;

It didn't take long for me to hear Itachi's labored breathing. We were about an hours worth away from getting to my village, so we've been walking for about eight hours now in the hot sun, considering we started pretty late this morning.

"Let's take a break. I might need to heal you again if your cells are acting up badly." We stopped at a fallen tree, and Itachi surprisingly sat himself down with no comment from me, and then maneuvered himself so he could lie back instead. I ran my chakra through his system and healed him to the best of my ability. For extra measures, I ran it through his lungs too, and smiled once I saw that they were staring to get healthier. Not where they should be considering he was getting a respiratory infection. "Okay, everything looks about as good as I can get it. Do you want to stay here for the rest of the evening and just finish traveling tomorrow?" I questioned when I sat down beside of him.

"No, the sun hasn't went down yet. Let's just keep going, I'm feeling a little better." He informed, standing up. I followed suit and continued to lead him down the nonexistent path.

;

It was all still standing the same as it had when I left. Everything was standing up right, and even paper lanterns were strung all around. Someone was obviously here; the weeds were taken care of, and the flowers of different colors were blooming everywhere.

"It's breathtaking," Itachi murmured.

"Why, thank you, young man." An elderly voice rasped out. We both turned our heads to a nearby house in search of the unfamiliar voice. An old woman walked out of the house, slowly making her way down a couple steps, and walked towards our direction. "Can I help you with something? I never see any travelers roaming around this area." She asked kindly, a soft smile gracing her wrinkled face. I took a step towards her and met her half way.

"My name is Sumiko, and I'm looking for Cho Keiko, have you heard of her?" I questioned. There was a huge possibility this person was just a hermit finding shelter here, but the decorations boosted my hopes up into thinking this was my chance for answers about my clan.

"In fact, you happen to be looking right at her. What can I help you with, young lady?" A smile broke across my face before excitement rushed through my body.

"I thought I was the last one. The clan leaders told me the other Miyoko's didn't exist, I've be-"

"You're the latest Miyoko bearer? You're a Keiko?" Cho asked with curiosity.

"Yes," I answered quickly. She had a look of pondering on her face as she studied me briefly, taking in any subtle details.

"It's about time. I gave up hope long ago." She whispered while walking back into her house. "Come, join me."

I motioned for Itachi to follow me, but he shook his head instead.

"Go. I will leave you two be, I want to explore this place." He said.

"Very well."

;

"How long have you been alive?" Cho asked after she poured steaming tea into a cup setting in front of me.

"I think around 150 years. It was a little over half a century before the founding of the Leaf Village when my birth came to be." I said after a bit of thinking. "How long have _you_ been alive?"

"Well over 300 years. Actually, I think I'm coming upon my 389th anniversary." She replied with a grin. "It's a shame we can't even keep up with our exact age." I nodded in agreement and took a sip of the hot tea."I gave up hope long ago," Cho said with a downcast expression. "I came back here to see everyone gone. I found the buried bodies, I can only assume it was you to lay all those people to rest."

"It was, indeed. A letter was sent my way a few weeks before their demise. It took me a few more days to arrive, but once I did, there was nothing I could do. The ones that were left were too far gone for my help." I stared at the boiling pot of soup hanging over the fire, remembering the putrid stench of sickness and death. It destroyed me that I was incapable of helping. The entire downfall of my clan was completely my fault; I wasn't there for them. I left for my own selfish needs without ever keeping communication between us when I knew a sickness overcome most of the elder and young clan members. It moved through quickly, but if I stayed, there might have been a possibility that the Keiko clan would still be thriving today.

"Something like this was inevitable. One can only do so much, you're not a miracle worker. You're not able to cure sickness." Cho whispered out, clasping a small, wrinkled hand over my own.

"It angers me so much. I let my clan down, I let you down, I let myself down."

"You needn't say that, you haven't let anyone down. It's only natural for the Miyoko to travel once they hit a certain mark of seeing the same things happen. You can't blame yourself for natures way of doing things." Cho chided me. "Now, go get your friend, I'm excited to eat, it's been years since I've got to dine with others, let alone a member of my clan." I smiled softly and did as she asked, quickly fetching Itachi while she fixed heaping helpings of steaming soup.

;

 _Ah, the smell._

I'm not sure how I missed it when walking in earlier, but the heavenly sent of homemade food left my stomach growling in anticipation. Itachi apparently agreed since he softly groaned once he came in through the doorway, his nose turned slightly up to take in much of the sent wafting through the closed in air.

"I haven't had homemade cooking in so long. It smells delicious." He murmured, closing his eyes in desire.

It had been awhile since I seen him act so aloof, and I relished in the moment, glad he was appreciating this instead of finding it depressing since it wasn't the Uchiha homemade cooking, and more importantly, his mothers. I grinned at him and wrapped my arm in his, and guided him to the table. Cho was already seated on her knees, waiting for us to do the same. We knelt down, and then all three of us bowed our head in thanks to Kami, thanking her for the wonderful food that was sitting right in front of us with steam rolling off it.

"So were you the one who wrote the records that was stored in a library in the Land of Waves?" I questioned after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, I'm so glad you found them." She said, delighted. "It took me many years to correct everything in those books, if you read through them, you'll learn the benefits of storing the Miyoko."

"Books? I only have a few scrolls." My gaze switched from Cho's to Itachi's. "Did you not see any books?"

Itachi shook his head, "The only thing there was what I gave you."

"It's alright, someone probably picked them up long ago. I would give you any extra copies, but what I left in that library was all that I had." Cho stated with a frown. "Though I'm not entirely sure who would want information on a died out clan with, at the time, no knowledge of any existing Miyoko bearer."

"I'm sure we can find them. Maybe someone living in the Land of Waves have them. When we head on out, Itachi and I will ask around." I said with hope. Cho smiled at my tone of voice and chuckled.

"Then I wish you the best of luck with that. I put those books in that library over 20 years ago."

 _I can only hope and think positive; I_ will _find those books!_

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/26/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	10. Chapter 10

It was quiet, the only noise being the rush of the stream nearby, and the chirping of the crickets. The sun was slowly going down and casting a yellow-orange glow, making the trees around us cast long shadows over our bodies. The dirt road was bare, Itachi and I being the only people walking on it.

"What's on your mind?" Itachi questioned, taking his black shirt off after he handed me his pack, and wrapping it in his hand. Sweat was rolling from his neck to his back, and my eyes immediately went to the swirling ANBU tattoo on his left shoulder. I broke my gaze and handed back his stuff.

"I'm disappointed that no one had the books, I'm trying to think of where they could be, or even who would want them. Why would someone want information on a nearly extinct clan? It's pointless." I crossed my arms behind my head to give it support.

"We'll come across them, I'll ask around on missions when Pein sends me on them." He reassured, knocking my arms down to place his around my shoulders.

A smell immediately emitted from under Itachi's arm, and I grimaced in disgust.

"Yeah, we'll worry about that later, but right now you need a bath. You stink of body odor."

A blush spread across his face, and he quickly yanked his arm off me, walking a few steps to the side.

He grunted with a frown, "It's not my fault it's hotter than hell out here, you probably don't smell like roses either."

I casually lifted my arm up and then smelled underneath it.

"Actually, it kinda does." I shoved my body towards Itachi, inviting him to smell me as well. "It's called deodorant. Maybe you shouldn't forget to put any on before we leave to travel in blistering hot weather."

He rolled his eyes and rubbed his shirt under is arms.

"That's not going to help, Itachi."

"Then give me some of your damn deodorant." He held his hand out expectantly, so I flung my pack to the front of me, unzipping it and digging around for the little bottle.

"You're going to smell like flowers." I said cautiously while handing it to him.

"I don't care." He took the lid off, rolled up the white substance, and applied a generous amount to his underarms. Quietly, he murmured, "I can't believe I forgot to put deodorant on..."

I stifled a giggle, but couldn't hold it in once he handed the bottle back to me. He turned his head away from me, but I could see the blush slowly cascading down his neck.

With his gaze off me, I took my time in looking him over. He was well defined, the muscles in his body standing to attention as he walked. His hands were deep in his pockets, weighing down the pants enough for me to see the veins in his lower stomach stretching far beyond the limitations my gaze could follow.

It was my turn to blush, but I held it back. The laughter was long gone and was replaced with an anxious cough. There was nothing wrong with looking at a good looking man, and boy ol' boy was Itachi budding into a man. From his arm muscles down to the confident steps he always walked.

Completely _sexy_.

I looked away when Itachi's head began to move, trying to play off that I was staring at our surroundings instead of just blatantly checking out my best friend.

 _I'm such a pervert, he's over a hundred years younger than me, I'm disgusting for even having these thoughts._

A frown graced my lips. This was why I shouldn't get close to people, _I feel like a nasty pedophile._

;

A yawn broke free from my mouth, causing Itachi to look away from the map he just got out. I felt his gaze on the side of my face, but I acted oblivious so I wouldn't have to see his eyes. _They always get to me._

A few minutes later, Itachi pointed out that another two hour walk would take us to a small town. Which meant a bed and food.

"I don't think we'll make it there when it's daylight though."

He was right. The sun was steadily setting, we had about an hours worth of light left to travel with, and with neither of us knowing exactly the dangers of this place, it would be best for us to settle down here for the night.

"Do you just want to stop now and unpack?" I questioned when he started slowing down. He was looking off towards the distance with no expression.

"We minds well. I'll go gather some sticks to burn, don't stray too far from here." He warned while walking off. With the abundance of trees surrounding this area, it shouldn't take him long to search for what he needs.

Fifteen minutes later, I was staring at the last bit of light escaping from the clouds, wondering where Itachi was. _Better go check if he needs help._ I set off in the direction he left in, trying to find any tracks he might of left behind- which there was none whatsoever.

"Dammit, Itachi. Stop being such a good Shinobi." I mused aloud. I was getting further into the dense forest, and starting to worry since I haven't found him yet. The sound of leaves rustling got my attention, so I looked behind me, grabbing a kunai Itachi demand me take just after we left from the Keiko compound.

A person stood there, dressed in an Akatsuki cloak with an orange mask on their face. They tilted their head at me and took a step closer. With every step they took, I made sure to keep a safe distance between us by scurrying back further from their approach. Behind them, a man that was black and white, the colors separating right in the middle, slowly rose up from the ground, a sick smirk showing on the white side of his face.

"It's time for you to come with me." A deep voice said. He shifted his head, showing a glowing, red eye glaring down at me through the hole of the mask. I stepped back in shock, a gasp of surprise escaping from my mouth.

"W-what? How is that possible?" I asked myself in disbelief. _An Uchiha?_

I felt another presence behind me, forming out of nowhere. I rose my kunai and attempted to hit them with it, but a hand grabbed my wrist and prevented me for moving any closer.

"She's not going anywhere with you." Itachi calmly stated. I sighed in relief and relaxed against his chest. He wrapped an arm around my midsection and jumped up in a tree, dragging me with him.

"It's not wise to go against my wishes, Itachi." He started to materialize in front of us, the strange man following close behind. "Give her to me." He demanded in a growl.

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/26/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	11. Chapter 11

_"Love hurts, does it not?" Aunt Akita asked, smiling sadly as pink petals from the nearby sakura tree fell to the ground in a rush. The wind blew my hair every which way, so I put my hand up to shield my eyes from the harsh treatment my face was receiving._

 _"I don't know, I don't think I've felt the type of love you had for awhile now." Moms body was lowered gently into the ground, the sakura petals scattering on the top of her casket. "But, the type of love I did have has made my heart swallow itself. I'm sure yours feels completely different from mine."_

 _"My heart is broken, shattered beyond repair, and burned into ashes." She replied back, sniffling._

 _"See, there was a difference." I looked up at her, smiling despite the emptiness I was feeling inside, and felt the cool trail of tears running down my cheek._

 _In all honesty, I prepared myself for this. I still looked sixteen, but I should've looked in my forties. Dad made it to 87, mom made it to 76. I had all this time to prepare myself for the demise of my family. One by one, death took them all. All that was left was Aunt Akita, but I knew she didn't have much longer either, she was pushing 80. I watched as she gazed at the clan members shoveling dirt onto her sister's, my mother's, casket, and I knew she was hurting more than I ever could._ But only because I forced it to be that way. _I hardened my heart, I tore away what emotions I could. It's difficult. As the years go by and you watch everyone you know and love be delivered to the ground to rot away, it tears at your mental stability. At your physical stability. Family, friends, even animals; I lost almost all. I will cherish Akita for the rest of her life._

 _I turned around before they finished, and started to walk away._

 _"Pay your respects, girl." Aunt Akita demanded with tears._

 _I paused briefly to look back at the pained expression on her face. "I already have." I whispered._

"Itachi!" I screamed out in fear, my throat closing up as the white half of the different colored man jumped towards me. I closed my eyes in anticipation, feeling my body free fall off the side of the cliff.

"Gotcha." Itachi whisper. I forced my eyes open once my body was caught, and seen each tomoe of his sharingan spin, forming into a different shape. A figure formed behind him, the white half that was chasing me.

"Behind you!" I shouted.

"Amaterasu!" Itachi yelled directly after, pushing off the side of the cliff and holding me tight. The white half of the man screamed in pain as black flames engulfed him. He melted back into the earth, the flame following after him.

Our fall was broken by the soft caress of the ocean. Itachi's hold on me tightened as he forced us back up for air. Gasping once he sucked in oxygen, he caught his breath quickly before turning around and looking back up the side of the cliff.

"Come on, lets get out of this water." He stated, pulling me closer to the shore. It was almost completely dark now, only figures were able to be seen. Itachi's breathing was labored, proving that he hasn't gotten better much since the last time I healed him.

"We need to find shelter somewhere so I can heal you, you strained yourself too much." I stated, looking around for anything we could possibly hide in.

"We don't have time for that. I sent a crow out, they'll find us soon. I need to get you away from here." He said, clutching his head in pain.

"You really think you can get away from me that easily?" A deep voice questioned. Itachi turned around quickly, shoving me behind him. "All you had to do was hand the woman over and let it be. But instead you instigated a fight." He stood up from his crouch on a boulder that was peeking out from the ocean. "I guess force is required for this, though I really didn't want to have to use any." He jumped to land and faced us. Not long after, an almost pulling sensation overcame me, pulling me the slightest bit closer to the masked man.

"I-Itachi?" I questioned, looking at the eye hole of the mask which was distorted, along with the area around his face. "There's a sensation, I think it's coming from his eye."

"It's the power of his sharingan." Itachi muttered, more to himself. He pushed me behind him and let go of me briefly, pulling quick hand signs. "Fire ball jutsu!" A stream of fire flew from Itachi's mouth and formed into a ball, which got sucked into whatever place the masked mans eye was pulling me into. The man gasped and stopped his power, jumping back away from us and landing on the moving water. "Amaterasu!" Itachi yelled, for the second time. The black flames quickly cloaked the masked man. He grunted in pain for a couple seconds before he used his sharingan and vanished quickly, leaving no trace of him behind.

 _That was too easy..._

I was hesitant about moving, afraid that he'd show up out of nowhere, but I noticed blood streaming down from Itachi's eye, almost like tears. He grasped his head in pain, grimacing slightly.

"Are you okay?" I asked frantically, already using medical ninjutsu on the back of his head. The hesitation left my body once I started to focus my mind on healing him. He slowly lowered his hand and let out a breath of relief. "If it's too painful to perform certain jutsus, then you don't need to be doing them at all." I stated with a glare. Itachi in pain made me feel like a failure as someone who is suppose help heal and relieve people of their discomfort. If I can't even help cure a simple disease, what else might come along that'll hinder my ability from working smoothly?

"It doesn't usually effect me this bad." He muttered out uneasily.

"It's your cells. We walked all day in the hot weather, that didn't help you at all. And plus moving around too much and exerting yourself from fighting with those two men made it ten times worse. We need to find somewhere so I can do a chakra run thr- Itachi!" I barely caught him and managed to keep him up right, the dead weight of his body worked against me, though with a little strength I kept him from landing harshly on the ground. His eyes were closed tightly, and beads of sweat rolled down his face. Even in his unconscious state he still managed to look uncomfortable and in pain. I quickly got to work by lying him down and taking off whatever clothes he had on- only leaving his underwear be. I channeled my chakra through his, and gasped at the feeling of the white blood cells steadily overrunning the red blood cells. For a good ten minutes, I calmed down the cells activity, though not enough to keep it at bay for him to wake up and feel better.

"You truly are remarkable." Came a deep voice. My eyes snapped open and looked at the man from earlier, his orange mask practically glowing in the dark. I wanted to pull away from Itachi, but knew it would only hurt him more if I stopped prematurely. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes again and focused my attention to the task at hand instead of the villain in front of me. "You are coming with me."

I felt my chakra flow stagger at his words. "Can I at least heal him first?" I questioned quietly.

"No." He spoke back. I heard quick movements, and opened my eyes to see the man holding a kunai, the butt of it quickly coming down on me.

"Wait!" Pain erupted from the side of my head and darkness flooded my vision, but the only thing I was truly worried about was the passed out Itachi being left alone in the middle of nowhere, with the possibility of never waking back up.

 _"Every time." I said with a frown. Akita let out a hearty laugh, the wrinkles on her face stretching out with her smile._

 _"Shogi just isn't for you, dear." She commented smugly._

 _"I guess not. Do you want to play again?"_

 _"Of course!" Her old lungs shouted with glee. I smiled at her behavior, it was a rare occurrence to see her laughing and being happy._

 _"Alright, let the embarrassment begin."_

 _;_

 _"Sumiko."_

 _It was early summer, everything was almost finished blooming, and a cool breeze took up most of the day. I was lounging outside, a book in my hand and a cup of cold water on the ground beside me. The green grass tickled my bare legs, and the soft sunlight hit against my body and kept it warm._

 _"Akita passed away twenty minutes ago."_

 _A family dog barked joyously within the area, and bugs of all kinds flew and hopped around, enjoying their day._

 _And yet, this cursed gift had managed to ruin my entire existence._

 **I suck at action and it really shows in this since I'm kinda vague with it, so I'm sorry for that. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter and it is one of my more shittier ones. Sigh.** **The italicized does have a connection with the rest of what I wrote, despite what it seems. It regards how Sumiko thinks that she loses everybody she loves; her last known relative dying, to being forced to leave Itachi at his most vulnerable where he could also die. It's connected with the Miyoko also, her outliving everyone while also not being able to cure Itachi's illness. Also,** **Itachi probably seems weak as fuck, but you gotta remember, he's sick. He can't be strong 24/7. I know the direction I want to go with this story, but it's so difficult to lay everything out in order and add in extra stuff, yanno? Anyways, Enjoy! And be so kind to leave a review, it's hard to get motivated when you don't have other people's opinions to go by and help you out.**


	12. Chapter 12

I could see light shining behind closed eyelids, and then quickly disappear, then reappear again. It continued on for awhile, along with faint noises, until I completely blacked out from a throbbing headache that slowly built up the more I was jostled around. When I finally did wake, all my senses were shut off besides being able to hear something dripping in the distance, it's echo consuming my thoughts. Timed with each drop, I put forth the will to move any part of me, and it was some time later that I finally managed to peel my eyelids back, and for a second I thought I had become blind from the complete darkness that shrouded my vision, but ever so slowly, I could make out blackened objects.

My body was heavy, it took most of my strength to just lift my head up and look around. Coming to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be moving any time soon, I lied my head back down and closed my eyes, feeling myself fall back in an unconscious state.

A light smack on my cheek made my eyes open, and a dark, blurry figure stood beside whatever I was lying on. After a moment of blinking excessively to clear my vision, the man who knocked me out walked behind the black figure and shoved him aside.

"Sumiko Keiko." He said while lifting me up and dragging me off to another location.

"Nng." I mumbled, not being able to form words. My brain was jumbled up along with my tongue.

He continued to drag me, his steps resonating because of the closed space. I tried to shift my legs and stand up to walk on my own, but all they did was twitch while he continued to treat me like a rag doll. My whole body was limp, I couldn't even hold my head up straight.

The further we went, the more my vision became cloudy and I tried my best to keep my eyes from shutting, but the sweet call of darkness won my body over, and all of the strength I managed to build up, diminished.

When I woke up again, I could see the room I was in for it was lit up with candles. Trying to move my arms and failing, I looked down to see them restrained against the armrests of the chair I was sitting in. My legs were bound together at the bottom, and fear spiked deep within at the thought of not being able to escape.

In the time of just sitting around for awhile, I managed to completely survey the room, which appeared to be a bedroom of sorts, and looked for any possible way out, if I even managed to free myself from the restraints. Amidst my wondering gaze, the masked man from earlier materialized a few feet in front of me and walked over to a chair pushed underneath a small table. We locked eyes for a second and my heart pounded with anticipation, I could practically feel the sweat rolling down my back.

"Now," he began, sitting backwards on the chair and resting his arms against the backrest, "let's get down to business, shall we?"

;

 **Itachi's POV**

The sound of the waves hitting the shore and the bright morning light woke me up. Soft cricket noises were right in my ear, and I groaned in annoyance at the disturbance of my sleep. When I opened my eyes, I made the move to yawn, but it cut short with a chocking sound, causing my lungs to twist in pain and my throat to burn. It was hard to breathe, almost like my throat was beginning to close up. I pulled myself up in a sitting position and held my chest, as if it would somehow cure the pain I was feeling inside.

"S-Sumiko.." I mumbled, trying to stand up. Noticing my clothes lying on the ground in a hurried mess, I crawled over to them and disregarded all but my pants, and attempted to stand once again with the help of a nearby tree.

Within a few hours, I made it away from the ocean and reached the edge of the forest, rounding upon the place Sumiko and I was planning to camp at. I gathered the packs and put them inside a small scroll that would fit in my pocket. Taking a deep breath, I sat down and rubbed my aching temples, trying to push the pain away.

"Tired?"

With a fast activation, I whipped my head around and glued my sharingan eyes on Cho Keiko, who was holding a basket with a towel covering over it. Groaning, I closed my eyes and palmed my forehead, the pain immediate and making the headache I had worse.

"Easy now, I brought some herbs to help with pain." She came to my side and knelt down, rummaging through the basket filled with different stuff. Narrowing my eyes, I let go of my head and quickly encased her neck in a tight grasp.

"You knew." I said angrily. "You knew he was here."

She wrapped her hands around mine and tried to pull it loose. She shook her head weakly, begging with her eyes. After hesitating for a few seconds, I let my hand drop and stood up, staggering slightly away from her.

"I didn't know he was here until after you both left." She choked out while rubbing her reddening neck. "He pays me regular visits to get herbs from my garden that's essential for the Miyoko to have when going to use the power. It was pure coincidence that he showed up when you both were leaving. He hasn't came around for a few months, I had no idea he'd show up when he did."

"So you've been helping him?" I questioned with a glare.

"Incidentally, yes. I didn't know his true motives, nor did I know Sumiko even existed." She said regretfully.

"Why was you giving him herbs? Was his motive not clear enough? It's obvious that the only reason he wanted Sumiko was because of her powers, if he wanted a Miyoko so badly, why the hell did he not just take you?"

"I was giving him herbs because he said he was studying the Keiko's kekkei genkai. I thought nothing of it since Sumiko's existence was unacknowledged by me, and because I was no longer a true bearer. That power left me long ago, boy."

Silence took over for a few minutes, and I grunted in agitation.

"I'm so sorry this happened, Itachi. If I-"

"Do you know his name at least?" I asked, rubbing at my temples once again. Maybe a correct name would help me track him down.

"No surname, just Tobi." She stated, digging into her basket again. "Here, this will help with the pain." She gave me a few herbs before searching within a pack she was carrying. "Sumiko mentioned you had a sickness, so I gathered all the herbs I had." She pulled out a scroll and handed it to me. "Everything I had growing in my garden is in this. I took whatever dried ones I had left in the house and stuck them in baggies with labels. I'm not sure if any of this will help your condition, but it's worth trying."

I took what she gave me with a slight nod. "Tobi isn't his real name, just so you know."

"Then what is?"Her old body stood back up and leaned against a tree, curiosity and worry mixing together in her expression.

"I'm not sure. He even told me that was his name but I know it's not true. He's an Uchiha, and when he offered to help me with the massacre of my clan, I researched him in my clans documents. No one with the last name Uchiha had the first name of Tobi. I'm still trying to figure out just who he really is."

"How did you know he was after Sumiko?"

I smirked sarcastically, "I've got my ways. When I came in contact with her, I had knowledge of him keeping tabs on her. So since I had the chance, I took her with me away from the Leaf Village."

;

 **Regular POV**

"I've read a lot about your kekkei genkai, even discussed with one of your clan members about it. It's mysterious almost, I've never heard of a power quite like yours before. When I was younger I... found out about that power and spent the last decade researching it." He stated.

"So you're the one who took the books I'm looking for?" I questioned in slight annoyance.

"No, I haven't touched any books, just scrolls. But now that you brought it to my attention, I'll be sure to have them fount. Anyways," He sighed deeply, "it took me awhile to figure out you was the last known Keiko to bear the Miyoko, as ignorant as it sounds. I should've known since I knew you from when I was young. And then, after I found out, I started watching you. I noticed immediately that you hadn't aged, you look the same as you did all those years ago-"

"Just who the hell are you?!" I shouted out in anger. "Take off that damn mask, you coward!"

"Now, now," He stood up and slowly came behind me, grabbing my hair in his fist and jerking my head back to make me stare into his only visible eye, "don't get too mouthy. I'd hate to have to hurt such an _important_ person in my life." He stated with such deep sarcasm it almost sounded innocent. "It's too bad you're needed."

"Damn you, you're a nobody," I spoke boldly with anger, my eyebrows scrunching together, "you can't even confront a defenseless woman without feeling afraid of showing your disgraceful face."

He pulled my head back even more, making me hiss out in pain while small tears gathered in the corner of my eyes at the burning sensation on my scalp.

"If you know what's best for you, I'd advise you to shut up before something bad happens." He seethed out in a growl. He abruptly let go of my hair and stepped away, my head jumping back into normal position. "But, as I may continue, I've been watching you for a little over ten years now. I've gathered a lot of information about you within that time frame to know that your kekkei genkai is needed for the plan I have in store. And to know that Itachi Uchiha will be a hindrance. He's already proven that for a fact since he somehow knew about me searching for you when the Leaf Village had the Chuunin Exams. He put up such a powerful genjutsu that it practically ridden both of your existences. Maybe that's why he has been getting so sick lately?" I already knew he had a smirk crossing his lips, that mask covered everything except the way his voice conveyed his emotion.

"He's gotten far closer to you than what I would have imagined or liked. It was a slight set back at first, but now I know that I will be able to get rid of him faster since he's injured and keep him from delaying my plans even further. It took me months to hunt you both down, time management has almost completely disappeared because of him." The man fumed out. He sat back down on the chair and rested his arms back on the backrest.

"Well, if you didn't obsess over me for so long you might have finished your plan within an appropriate time frame."

"Oh no," He said slowly, "The only time delay was you. Now that I have you, it can finally get started. When the time comes, I'm going to need your power to bring Madara Uchiha back to life. Be aware, Infinite Tsukuyomi will be taking action soon." His voice faded out as he left the room in a swirling mess, his gleaming sharingan eye was the last thing seen as he left a vacant seat.

 **No idea if Madara was actually dead around this time or not, but since it's my story, I'm making it that way. (: This is about maybe 2 years before Shippuden starts btw.**


	13. Chapter 13

With Itachi consuming my thoughts constantly for however long I've been in this room, I felt like secretly mourning the death of him that I didn't see happen, made my situation here worse. Anxiety coursed through my body with the anticipation of him breaking his way in and rescuing me. But, in the condition that I had to leave him in, I doubt that would be happening any time soon, or if at all.

As I sat in the same chair that masked man left me in, still bounded at my hands and feet, I forced myself into thinking about old memories. The kind that was embedded into the depths of your brain, and after a long while begged for the forgotten attention once it was sought out.

Reminiscing wasn't something I did often, but as of now it was the only thing plaguing my mind, reeling at the change I managed to make for someone else, even if it was just by chance and for a short amount of time. Naruto Uzuzmaki. A boy treated wrongly, a boy thrown into a world of chaos, and a boy that holds imaginable power sealed within him. Looking back now, the stomach turning treatment that boy received still made me sick with anger and helplessness.

 _;_

 _"These people," I said, looking through the window and down at the little blond headed boy, "are so foolish." As he walked in between a crowd of citizens, they quickly went the opposite direction, sending the child looks that made him cower._

 _"In due time they will realize just how important he is to this village." Hiruzen stated, going through documents and stamping them._

 _"You are Hokage. Can you not reason with them about him like you did with me?" I tore my eyes away from the pitiful sight, a feeling of sympathy and understanding washing over me._

 _"People will always fear what they don't understand, Sumiko. The Nine Tails is a powerful creature with such awesome skill that it's nearly impossible to take down. You seen how it ended, they are afraid of that same event taking place again."_

 _"But he's just a child.. He doesn't even know why he's being treated so poorly! Minato wouldn't have wanted things to be like this for him!" I cried out. Hiruzen put the stamp down with a sigh._

 _"There is nothing I can do, Sumiko. Nothing will change the fact that he is a Jinchūriki, people will always have fear for him."_

 _"And that can't be changed?" I questioned quietly._

 _Hiruzen halted, his expression saddening. "That, I do not know. Like I said, in due time the villagers will realize Naruto's importance. He'll prove it to them one way or another."_

 _;_

 _I was stared down the further I ventured into the depths of the Village, the sneers and looks of disgust worsening. I wanted to so desperately say something, but instead I furrowed my brows in annoyance and continued what I planned to do: find Naruto. The determination to see that little boy outweighed everything else at that moment. After many minutes of searching different sections and alleyways, I found myself at the poorer end of the Village, staring at people in a huddle throwing insults at somebody. Immediately, I ran in that direction, knowing exactly who it was. Squeezing and shoving my way through the citizens, I locked my eyes with blue ones slowly welling up with tears, and gently walked towards him._

 _"Have you no shame?" I shoved the little blond headed boy behind me once I reached him, attempting to lift the weight of the stares he was receiving. "This is just a child, how would the Fourth-"_

 _"Shut up, witch! You're not welcomed here either!" Someone from the crowd shouted. It consisted of many adults and a few kids, all of them giving the same look._

 _"I don't care what you people say or feel about me. Your criticism doesn't affect me anymore, but the Fourths child on the other hand has it slightly different," I looked all the people in their eyes, seeing the fear and frustration swimming in the depths. "He is unaware of_ anything _, and you know this. But yet you continue to treat him as if he is an abomination. He is not at fault here. The Fourth Hokage would be so disgusted with you all."_

 _"That boy," said an older woman that stepped out from behind some people, "is the reason my son is dead." The last word was thrown in malice and hatred, causing the listening Naruto to take a hold of the back of my shirt and pull._

 _Anger welled up inside me, begging to erupt. "No!" I screamed out, startling the crowd, "That_ boy _saved all of your asses! He was sacrificed for the safety of this village. You cannot blame Naruto for that beast's actions. They are not the same being."_

 _"Alright, that is enough." A voice commanded. Hiruzen walked down the street, heading towards our huddled up location. Most of all the people either bowed their heads in respect or spoke of his title, showing their appreciation of him. "Everyone, stop this nonsense and go home. The sun will be setting soon." The crowd obeyed and dispersed slowly, going every which way with few complaints._

 _Clenching my hands in a tight fist, I glared at all of the people leaving, wishing that they could just understand how much pain they were causing this little child. Amidst my thinking, I felt Naruto's hand let go of my shirt. Turning around, I snatched his retreating arm in my grasp and pulled him to me, crouching down slightly and giving him a hug. He tensed under my hold, but that just made me tighten my arms around him even more._

 _"Everything," I began, whispering softly into his ear, "everything will be okay."_

 _With those words, Naruto wailed out, crying loudly into my shirt. I sat down on the ground, pulling him fully into my arms. His cries vibrated his tiny body, and the abundance of leaking tears soaked my chest._

 _Once his sobs quieted into whimpers, I stood up with him still cuddled deep in my arms._

 _"Let's get you home." I said. I looked at Hiruzen, and he walked in front of_ _me, leading the way to Naruto's place of living. In minutes, we ended up at an apartment complex in the middle of the Village. "Why was he so far from here?"_

 _"I'm not sure." He answered back, looking quizzically at the sleeping boy cradled against my chest. "The key should be on top of the door frame, it's a spare I keep for when I visit him."_

 _"I'll stop by later." I stated, walking up the steps and rounding upon Naruto's door. I got no answer, and looked back at Hiruzen, only to see that the spot he was standing in was vacant. Shrugging my shoulders, I reached for the key and unlocked the door. "What in the hell!" I almost dropped Naruto from shock, and gagged once the putrid smell punched me in the face._

 _Garbage was piled up, half spilling out from the dark bags, half leaking a light goo. I flipped on the lights to look at the mess a little better, the smell accumulating the longer I stood there. Stepping carefully into the hallway, I silently prayed that the farther I went back, it would be at least a little cleaner than the living area._

 _Once I found his room, I stared horrified at more black bags stuffed full taking over, leaving only the bed and dresser practically visible and "clean". "You poor kid." I mumbled, debating whether or not I should actually lie him down._

 _Stripping the bed of the pillow and blankets, I sat him down near the window, farthest away from all the garbage. Taking the alarm clock that was resting on his headboard, I sat the alarm to go off in three hours, hopefully giving me enough time to clean everything up and go visit Hiruzen before he himself went to bed._

 _;_

 _Within that time frame, I wrestled with the mounds of rubbish, and scrubbed the floors clean in the living area, making sure the apartment was suitable for a child to be living in. The alarm went off, making me jump, and Naruto sit up quickly. He looked around and landed his eyes on me scrubbing his bedroom floor._

 _"W-what.." He looked confused before his eyes opened up further in realization, and jumped from his bed. "My toy, those mean kids took it from me!" He cried out. I put the scrub brush down and sat on my knees._

 _"Calm down," I said, "we'll get you a new one tomorrow." I promised with a smile. He shyly looked away, and immediately took notice of his clean room. In awe, he jumped off the bed, and little pitter-patter of feet echoed through the apartment as he checked the rest of it out. He came running back with tears trailing down his cheeks, and a big smile adorning his face. He latched on to me, sniffling in my ear and grasping my neck with such a force it didn't seem he was only seven years old. "Let's get back to bed." I whispered, standing up and putting down the freshly clean blankets on his bed._

 _He dove right into them, a sound of content leaving his little mouth._

 _"I'll be back tomorrow, but for now I have to go." I affirmed._

 _"Thank you." Naruto said quietly._

 _I smiled and grabbed the cleaning supplies, taking them to the bathroom and placing them where they belonged._

 _"You knew it would be messy?" I questioned the Hokage_ _once I made it into his office,_ _an eyebrow raised. "Actually, messy is an understatement. It was a complete disaster."_

 _"Yes, I know. I clean it every two weeks, that's the reason I was looking for him earlier. Since you were there, I thought I'd let you take over instead." He replied back with a grin._

 _"Every two weeks?"_ How in the hell does he get it trashed so fast? _I sat down in the chair facing Hiruzen's desk and let out a tired sigh, grabbing my head. "I'm exhausted." I exclaimed with a yawn._

 _"Why don't you go home and get some rest." Hiruzen suggested, stamping his last paper. "I know I'm going there now."_

 _"Alright, since you want me gone so fast." I grinned. He gave me a look and shook his head, walking towards the door. I followed, locking the door behind me. "Goodnight." And I received no reply._

 _;_

 _It was early morning the next day that I showed up at Naruto's apartment. I rang his doorbell a couple time, and when he finally answered, he was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and patting down his wild hair. He gave me a toothy smile and a small wave, moving aside to let me in._

 _"I can't stay today, I'm going to be busy with the Hokage. But," I pulled my arms out from behind me and presented him with a new toy, as I had promised. It was a fuzzy, green frog, with a pink underbelly and big brown eyes. He tore it from my hands and snuggled it to his face, once again tears starting to stream down. He ran into my legs and gave them a soft hug, rubbing his snotty nose on my pants. "Oh c'mon, don't be nasty." I scolded with a smile. He let go and walked backwards into his apartment._

 _"Thank you." He said with a cracked voice, his face blotchy and wet._

 _;_

 _"Where do all of these papers come from?" The stacks kept piling up, easily taking over half of Hiruzen's desk._

 _"Those are all from this past week, it's the reports from Shinobi coming back from a mission." He stated._

 _"Am I suppose to be reading these?" I hesitantly put the paper already stamped into the finished pile, looking quizzically at my long time friend._

 _"Have you been?" He asked without looking away from his own paper._

 _"Uh.. No?"_

 _"Good, you would've been wasting time."_

 _I rolled my eyes and stamped the papers faster, trying to finish so that maybe I could see Naruto one more time before he went to sleep. The setting sun the window allowed me to see looked back at me in mockery._ I'll just visit him again in the morning.

 _"Thank you." Hiruzen said softly, his pipe hanging from his lips._

 _"What are you talking about? I help out all the time, there's no need for that."_

 _"Naruto. I agree with you when you say that these villagers are foolish. They really are, he's a great boy. It's just that I can't do anything about how they feel, I've already tried that." He shook his head, setting his pipe down._

 _"But with me you were able to, I don't get it." I looked at the piece of paper with a frown. Getting angry wouldn't help anything._

 _"Naruto's situation is different from yours, Sumiko." Hiruzen reminded me._

 _"Yes, I am aware of that, but it still doesn't change the fact that those people treated me the exact same way." I protested lightly._

 _"I know Minato wouldn't be happy that his son was being treated like this, he wanted them to think of Naruto as a savior for this Village."_

 _"Which," I butted in, "is the exact thing that he is. He's harboring a dangerous creature that he has no knowledge of. And these dumbasses that provoke him every day are going to go too far. Once that happens, the Nine Tails will be out roaming around again. They need to be careful with what they say, his emotions are linked to that beasts, and he's going to end up taking advantage of that some day."_

 _It was eerily quiet, my words hanging in the air. We both did nothing, the papers still sitting in a large stack._

 _"Maybe you can help him out then. I'm too busy, but if you are willing to care about how that boy feels and how he's treated, I'll give you a mission to be alongside him on his worst days of being a Jinchūriki_ _."_

 _"No, it doesn't need to be a mission, Hiruzen." I stated bitterly. "I'm not a Shinobi. I'm a person with a caring heart that will do this without being assigned to it." I slammed my hands down on the table and stood up. "I'm disappointed you'd make it into a job. Was it a job to you when you helped me out?" I asked._

 _After a moment of staring at each other, Hiruzen shook his head. "It wasn't seen like that because I grew up with you. You were with Tobirama and Hashirama constantly, you were like another teammate to me."_

 _I smiled softy at him and walked to the door._

 _"Naruto is now my priority, I'll see to his every needs." I clarified, opening the door._

 _;_

 _Halfway to Naruto's apartment, two Shinobi dropped from nowhere in front of me, crouched defensively._

 _"What are you doing?" I asked cautiously, taking a step backward. They didn't answer, but instead sprang at me, gripping my upper arms and making quick hand signs, teleporting us somewhere. A scream almost escaped my mouth, my fast heartbeat slowing down once the familiar faces of Hiruzen and the Council members came into view._

 _"What in the hell is going on?" The anger seeped out as soon as I calmed down, and I had to bite my tongue from saying anything that would possibly piss them off._

 _"It's come to my knowledge that you're interacting with the Nine Tails_ _Jinchūriki." Stated Danzo. I stared shocked at him for a moment before my eyes narrowed together._

 _"You practically kidnapped me when I had no idea what was going on. You should be held accountable for that!" He watched me jerk away from the two Shinobi, ignoring my sudden outburst and raising his eyebrows in wonder at the answer I didn't give._

 _"Yes," I finally admitted, "I plan on being Naruto's caregiver."_

 _"Absolutely not." Danzo sneered immediately, hitting his cane on the floor._

 _"What the hell do you mean? How do you even know about this?" I looked at Hiruzen, then to the other two elders. Along with Danzo, they sat in a straight line in front of me._

 _"I've been watching you. Citizen contact with the Nine Tails host is forbidden." Danzo challenged._

 _"Says who? It doesn't look like you're in any position to command me around without the permission from the Hokage." I bit back with a glare._

 _"Actually, as an elder, I hold certain rights, too. I do not permit you to go near that boy again, understand?" He commanded with a glare of his own._

 _In anger, I made to walk over to him, only to get rough grips on either side of my arms, once again, and pushed harshly to the ground._

 _Hiruzen immediately stood up, pushing away the Shinobi that were behind me._

 _"Enough, back away." He commanded firmly. The grips on my arms loosened slightly, but didn't let go. "Danzo!" He yelled out._

 _"Let her go." The wicked man stated. I was set free, and collapsed in front of Hiruzen, rubbing the aching, probably red, mess. "She is not to go anywhere near the Nine Tails host, I'll have the Root to keep an eye on her at all times. One mishap, and she dies."_

 _"This is complete bullshit! You don't have the power to command me around!" I yelled out, lunging at the man with blind rage._

 _"As discussed," Koharu said, "Homura and I also agreed upon the idea as well. It is best to keep all contact away from the_ _Jinchūriki. He is dangerous and should be treated as so."_

 _I stopped in my tracks at her words, feeling the tears beginning to form and disbelief making my chest ache. I looked desperately from the three sitting down, to Hiruzen standing beside me. He shook his head at me sadly._

 _"You people disgust me." I whispered out, pushing past Hiruzen and walking out the door. Feeling my friend walking behind me made me quicken my pace, but with his Shinobi skills, he quickly caught me and held me to him._

 _"This is one of the reasons why I cannot help Naruto. Despite me being Hokage, I can't make decisions solely based upon what I want. Right now, I do want you to keep from him, Danzo does not mess around, and you're safety is important to me." He turned me to face him, and wiped away the tears rolling down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'll do all that I can for him. I promise." He gently reassured. Pulling him into a hug, I lied my head on his chest._

 _"You better keep that promise."_

Damn that Danzo, to the fiery pits of hell.


	14. Chapter 14

**_I'm so sorry it took so long for an update. I'm finishing up my last two months of high school, and I'm trying to stay on track with it. Just know that no matter how long it takes for an update, it'll come at some point. This story will be finished, mark my words! Hope you enjoy, and once again, so sorry._**

"Was your clan important to you?" Cho asked. We were in the process of walking to a small town Sumiko and I was going to head to, but the mere two hour journey had taken far longer than what I would've liked. From my worn out body to Cho's elderly bones, we couldn't go as fast.

"Of course it was. Family is always important." I grunted out in annoyance.

"Back where we met up, you mentioned that Tobi helped you murder them?"

I stopped walking and took a deep breath. The guilt I momentarily forgot started to slither its way back into my chest. There were more important things I had to worry about right now, but this crazy woman was making it difficult.

"It's not as simple as that. But, that matter isn't any of your business. Just know that I did what I had to do." I responded icily, looking at our surroundings, then looking back at the map my hand started to clench around.

It was quiet for awhile, besides the noises nature had to offer. So, when Cho cleared her throat, I mentally glared at the silence being disturbed again.

"Sumiko spoke very fondly of you; she holds a type of love I haven't seen in many years."

My heart clenched at the mention of her name, and the worrying I had increased the slightest bit, wondering if she was being tortured or not. Dropping Cho off at the town ahead couldn't come fast enough. But with the way things were going, I wouldn't be able to make it to Sumiko and successfully save her unless a medical ninja would help heal me. Straining my body like this, along with the hot weather, wasn't helping anything but the cells multiplying rate. I let out a soft sigh. The temptation to take some more herbs was persistent, but the elderly woman claimed it would cause a terrible stomach ache - something I definitely didn't need with the condition I was already in.

"Do you love her back? Do you want to marry her? Or, foremostly, do you want a family with her?" Cho interrogated. She stopped walking and grasped my arm, turning me slightly to face her. Her expression was filled with wonder and slight protectiveness. _Why couldn't these questions wait until a better time?_

 _But, more importantly, did I actually love her?_ I thought of all the times we had together before my life went to hell and back. At first I considered her family, but, when I think about it more, maybe I _did_ love her. She was there for me when my family couldn't be, or wouldn't be; she became a person that I depended on heavily. Sumiko was the light that pushed the darkness away. But things have been too lenient lately on me, though. All this happiness of having Sumiko back in my life.. I didn't deserve it, and because of it, Kami was slowly punishing me. I could handle joining the Akatsuki and being considered a criminal, but having such an important person to me captured when I couldn't do anything is hell on the mind. It'd be my fault if she ended up getting hurt or killed, and the guilt resulting from that mixed with my feelings for the Uchiha clan, including Sasuke, would make it hard for me not to give up. She would be disappointed, but how can you live your life out when you have nothing left?

What sliver of life I had left would diminish completely, and forever.

"Maybe." I answered aloud, repeatedly asking her questions to myself once we started walking again.

;

 _Drip. Drip. Drip._

It didn't stop, the noise growing louder and more frequent. I thrashed around in the seat I was bound to, and cursed aloud. It was hot, and sweat was pouring down my body. My breathing picked up; I was gasping in mouthfuls of air but it wasn't reaching my lungs. _Am I dying?_ My heart was beating faster and faster, thudding hard against my chest. What felt like hours was only minutes, and soon, my labored breathing slowed as my world started to spin. The last thing I heard was the continuous drip of water hitting the cave floor.

;

When I came to, my hearing was out and my vision was blurry. A smell was in the air, giving me a headache from the depths of hell, and making it harder for my brain to wake up fully. I sat there for a minute in my own self pity, asking myself why this was happening, and a dozen or so _drips_ later, I managed to coach myself into a half conscious state. Soon after, a hard squeezing sensation wrapped around my legs. Succeeding in lolling my head to the side, I was able to look down and see what was was causing the feeling; a snake was making its way up my body, wrapping from my ankles up to my chest, and stopping once its' head was leveled with mine. I sucked in a quick breath of air, my heart beating erratically again, but slowed to a skip when I heard footsteps.

"Just too easy." A sultry voice said. Movement in the shadows caught my eye, and I glared once the person came out from hiding. "I thought I'd never get you by yourself, though."

Orochimaru made his way closer, stopping right in front of me. His arms were bandaged up, and what little showing was discolored. They seemed to be rendered useless since they hung limply at his sides.

"You're right, Lord Orochimaru. Slipping that poison in her food was by far the easiest thing I've done yet. Maybe Tobi needs to be more careful about his surroundings." A man suggested, brushing his silver hair out of his eyes. He smirked in triumph while stepping the rest of the way out to join his "lord", and stood beside him.

More snakes crawled out of nowhere, slithering their bodies closer to mine, until they wound themselves around my body, securing me tightly against the chair that I was already bound to.

I tried to speak, even scream, but my tongue was heavy and my mouth was dry. I couldn't even will my body to struggle.

"I thought you said she'd be knocked out for a few hours, Kabuto, it's only been ten minutes." Orochimaru looked at 'Kabuto' with irritation. "Do something about it."

"Yes, m'lord. She apparently has resistances against certain poisons." Kabuto walked closer with the butt of a kunai facing me. "We didn't expect you to wake back up, at least not until later. Oh well, there's always ulterior motives." He raised his arm as if he was going to hit the kunai on my head, but Orochimaru stopped him suddenly.

"There is no harm to come to her. It will be hard to convince Itachi if his little girlfriend in hurt." He sneered.

Kabuto hesitated, but put his arm down. "Very well." Instead, he quickly hit a pressure point in my neck, causing me to black out again.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Maybe it's just me, but when I write chapters, I read over them slowly and dramatically lol. xD Also, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to the recent follows/favs and reviews, it means a lot and is highly appreciated. Every time I check my mail and see them, it puts a big smile on my face. (:_**

 ** _This was kinda just slopped together, I haven't had much time to work on this, so I'm sorry if it's as crappy as I think it is._**

* * *

"What in the hell are you doing here?" My eyes cracked open and stared at the disheveled black haired boy. His own eyes wide and blazing with his sharingan, giving me a look of utter horror. "Answer me, Sumiko!"

"S-Sasuke?" My throat was parched; I haven't had anything to drink since I was at that cave, but who knows how long ago that was.

"What are you doing here?" He asked again, though gently this time. He kneeled down and touched my arm, then moved loose hairs out of my face.

"I don't know." I almost whimpered out. It was dim, the only light was from the candle that produced a faint dance on the stone walls.

"Where is that bastard? He's suppose to be watching over you!" Sasuke growled out. He grabbed the shackles hooked to my wrists and tinkered with it. "There's a seal on it. I can't get it off."

"A masked man fought with us, then took me away. I don't know where Itachi is, Sasuke. We've been separated for awhile, and when I was taken, he was in bad shape. I'm so scared for him, Sasuke!" By the time I finished, tears were slowly travelling down my cheeks. No matter how long I sat and thought about him, it hadn't truly dawned on me that he could _actually_ be dead. "I don't even know if he's alive." I whispered. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock before narrowing down.

"My brother can't be taken down that easily, I hate to admit." He mused, "So Orochimaru didn't get to you first? Is that what you are saying?"

"Yes, like I said, a masked man fought with us. I was chained to a chair in a cave for awhile, then _he_ showed up and brought me here. Please, Sasuke, help me out of here. I need to make it back to Itachi!" Desperation was clear in my voice; on the verge of begging. He pondered, looking over my, probably disturbing, appearance.

"I'll do what I can, Sumiko. No promises, though."

* * *

"So, this was your plan." Cho stated, knowing what I was going to do. She observed the pack on my back and my change of clothes. We reached the village, and stayed overnight, now, though, was when I was leaving in search for Sumiko. "Are you even healed fully?"

"No, but I'll be fine. Just have to take it easy." I responded while taking a seat on the wooden steps outside of the inn, and put my shoes on.

"There is a medical ninja here, Itachi. Go to her."

"I have no money to spare." It was true in a sense, but it would've been easy to get the money I lost back, though.

"Then I'll stay here and work it off. I know much about healing, I'll be of great use to them." She tried to reason.

"Why don't you heal me then?" I asked in annoyance. I wasn't truly worried about myself, though, I just wanted to leave and find Sumiko as soon as possible.

"Because I can no longer perform any healing techniques."

"Then how would you be of any use to these people?"

"There are more ways of healing than just medical ninjutsu, Itachi." Cho stated, a deep frown marring her face.

"I don't have time," I hastily declared, "I'm leaving now."

* * *

The dark room was barren. The only thing resting in its presence was the candle that was lit, the little table the candle sat on, and my slumped body shackled against the cold wall. I watched as the candle melted down, its wax trailing onto the table, and it's flame taking a smaller shape. _Sasuke, where are you?_ I shuddered slightly from the cold and closed my eyes. _Time to rest._ I groggily thought.

;

A soft shake woke me up; my eyelids peeled back and I stared at the same spot I stared at for hours on end not too long ago. In place of the tiny candle was two tall ones, both lit and making the room brighter than before.

"Sasuke," I called out offhandedly when I saw him in the corner of my eye, "why did you join Orochimaru?" Amidst my staring at the little flames, Sasuke sat down beside me and sighed.

"Why did you join my brother?" He retaliated after a moment, annoyance clear in his voice.

"That's a totally different situation, Orochimaru is a criminal."

"So is Itachi. You betrayed the Leaf Village." He spat out.

"Like you have any room to talk, boy." I scoffed. He faintly shook his head and leaned against the wall with me. I continued to stare at the candle when nothing more was said about the matter. When a portion of the wax melted off, Sasuke decided to talk again.

"You don't understand, Sumiko. He _murdered_ the entire Uchiha clan. Don't I deserve to be mad? Don't I deserve to feel hatred? Sadness? _Betrayal_?" He asked me quietly. His face scrunched up in emotional pain, but a brief second passed like nothing happened.

"Not when you don't know the full story." My voice was suppose to come out strong, but instead sounded like a whisper in the wind. He _did_ deserve to be mad. He _did_ deserve to feel hatred and sadness and betrayal. Just not towards Itachi.

"Then tell me, Sumiko!" He yelled out in anger and shook his head. "There is no story, I know what happened. He said he wanted to test his power and that's exactly what he did!" He turned around quickly and punched the wall. "There is no story," he repeated with a whimper, "nothing can justify what he has done to me and my family."

"I wish I could tell you everything, but it's not my place. I understand, Sasuke. I wish I could relieve you of your pain." I turned my body sideways and rested my head against his shoulder once he relaxed into a normal position. He tensed slightly, then I felt his muscles unwind. "You mean the world to me, I wish I raised you a little better. I blame myself now for the way you feel, I should've paid more attention to you and made things more understanding."

"Shut up, you did raise me good." He lifted his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders. "If you didn't care for me, I would've ended up in the foster care. I don't blame you, Sumiko, I've lived my whole life after the massacre in hatred and anger. Nothing would've changed the way I thought. So don't blame yourself." He gently hit the back of my head and held me tighter. "I love you as if you were mom."

I turned my head deeper into his neck, the tears escaping from my eyes and rolling onto his skin and clothes.

 _I really needed to stop crying._

 _;_

"We have to be quick about this, Orochimaru has sensory ninja everywhere." Sasuke stated once he cut the shackles off of me. "I put up a small genjutsu, it won't last long though. Some will be able to see through it." He grabbed my arm and yanked me up, pulling me to the doorway.

We ran down a hall of stones, and then more halls; all leading to a different labyrinth to go through. After a few minutes, Sasuke pulled us both close to a wall and waited. Faint footsteps echoed throughout the area, causing us both to hold our breaths in anticipation, though soon after we were running again. Going through a door, we walked up a small incline, the path lighting up more and more.

"Made it. Orochimaru didn't put you too deep into the hideout, which is lucky on your part." He panted out, grabbing my hand and leading me out.

"I sense a chakra." I whispered. A chuckle echoed after I talked, and Sasuke's grip tightened.

"Now, Sasuke, Lord Orochimaru won't like this too well." We both turned our heads in unison, staring at the silver haired shinobi coming out of the shadows, a smirk etched onto his face.

"Kabuto." Sasuke seethed out, pushing me behind him. I glared at the man, rubbing my neck slightly where he knocked me out. "Sumiko," he whispered, "I'll hold him off. Make a run for it."

"What about you?" I asked quietly.

"I'll be fine, they won't hurt me. I'm too important." He stated confidently. I hesitated slightly, seeing Kabuto holding a kunai, then Sasuke shoved me roughly, causing me to stumble into a run.

 _Thank you._

* * *

The crows flew away in a frenzy around me, squawking out loudly and echoing all around. I sat atop a boulder facing away from the small village, and looked keenly into the forest. _Now, time to wait._ _I'm coming soon, Sumiko!_


	16. Chapter 16

I was already tired, gasping for breath with my heart hammering in my chest. _All I want to do is find Itachi. Why does everything have to be difficult?_ I paused my running and leaned against a tree, the bark digging into my backside as I rested my hands on my knees. _Come on Sumiko, now is not the time to be tired._ I closed my eyes and held my breath for a few seconds, managing to calm my heart before I pushed myself off the tree and continued forward, though this time in a walk.

;

It was a few hours later, well into the night, when I found some berries, my belly growling out how much it's been neglected lately. Using the moon as my light, I gathered some in my shirt and walked to an area shrouded by bushes and trees. I took a set on a stump and quickly indulged myself, enjoying the way the berries popped and sprayed it's juices in my mouth. I groaned in satisfaction once my stomach stopped its growling.

About halfway through the berries, my world started to change; moving yet sitting in place. I took whatever was left off my shirt and sat them in a gathered up pile by my feet, rubbing at my eyes afterwards, and closed them for a bit in hopes that it would help ease my swaying vision.

 _"Your mama told you to go train, and to go train hard. You stopped too soon."_

My eyes snapped open at the familiar voice, and in the distance my father was standing by a tree, staring at me with anger.

 _"I don't understand why you continue to make things harder on your mama, she's done so much for you and yet you can't even get off your lazy ass and train."_

"What the hell would you know? You're always gone!" I shouted out, pointing a finger at the burly man.

 _"Your mama busts her ass for you and you can't do shit to make her happy!"_ He yelled back, walking closer.

"I can only do so much, I've done nothing but train for the past two years just so I can become this stupid Miyoko that everyone will treat differently!"

 _"Two years? Don't kid yourself, Sumiko. For the last fifty you've done nothing!"_ Life after the clan flashed before my eyes, along with my willingness to stop practicing the basics of protection. My attention switched back to dad as the wind blew leaves around us, and his body following suit. Before he completely disappeared, his face softened, _"I love you, my little Sumi, I just want you to be able to take care of yourself."_

I stared at the spot he vanished from, my eyes watering up at the fact that he was right, I've wasted a long time doing absolute nothing. I loafed around and acted like I didn't live in a world based on killing. I waited for someone to protect me, no matter who it was, because I just _knew_ that they would.

 _"Don't let him get to you, dear. I'm proud of you and the things you've accomplished. He's just being melodramatic."_

I turned my head to see my mother sitting on a rock, knitting something small while rocking back and forth, a soft hum whispering from her. My chest tightened at the sight of her. It had been a very long time since I last seen her face.

 _"You know how he is. He's just worried for you. The Shinobi world isn't what it's talked up to be, is it?"_ She questioned with a sad smile. _"It's why we tried to keep you away from it. It's dangerous and bloody,"_ she 'tsked' and stood up, the thing she was knitting gone to the world, _"but no, you wanted to go out and see what you were missing. Didn't miss much now did ya?"_ She placed her hands on her hips and looked at me with a calm frown. _"Your clan needed your help and you were gone, leaving them to rot away."_

"I didn't know the clan was so sick, the message I got showed up too late. It's not my fault." I attempted to argue.

 _"I'm not talking about that, Sumiko. But now I know you have a guilty conscience."_

"Of course I feel guilty! My entire clan died out because I wasn't there to help them! Why are you and dad doing this?" I questioned. "Why show up and lecture me? You can't have a normal conversation with me that doesn't make me want to regret everything I've done in my life?"

 _"When will you understand?"_ She humphed _._

"Understand what?"

 _"That life outside the clan walls was the biggest mistake you've made!"_ My heartbeat thumped wildly, banging against my chest.

"It wasn't a mistake, I've met so many wonderful people." I thought of everyone I've come to know and love; Hiruzen, Kakashi and his students, Rin, Obito, Sasuke, _Itachi._ There was more, so how was it a mistake to venture out? How was it so bad to make a life outside of what you're used to and what's expected of you? My clan might have died out, but I had a whole other family to look forward to.

 _"But, Sumiko, they're all dead."_ Just the same as dad, she stalked her way over towards me, her arms crossed. _"All of them."_ Her voice weakened as her body began to vanish into a pile of smoke, before it too quickly disappeared.

"What? No, they aren't." I stated to the forest surrounding me, a confused look on my face. "What do you mean?!" I screamed out.

 _"Stop looking so emotional, it makes you look ridiculous!"_

My teacher materialized in front of me, sitting Indian style with her hands under her chin.

"Sensei?" I questioned hesitantly. The tears welled back into my eyes, and I felt my face cringe up. "What's going on?"

She smiled brightly, taking a stick and whacking me on the head with it. I flinched and grabbed the aching spot, scooting back away from her. The tears of sadness was now replaced with tears of pain.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled out.

 _"Your training needs picked back up. I'm saying this not only as your sensei, but as your friend, too."_ She stood up and squatted in front of me, placing her hand on top of my own. _"You look exactly the same. It's unbelievable..."_

"Please," I begged, grabbing her arm, "why can I see you? Tell me!" The pleads fell on deaf ears.

 _"It's okay to feel scared."_

"What?" I asked curiously. "What are you talking about now?"

 _"You're entire life has been flipped around because of this boy. If you love him, it's okay. It was bound to happen eventually."_ Her body began to flicker and fade slightly, and in an attempt to keep her with me, I reached out for her. _"Though it happened later than I thought._

"No, please don't leave yet. I've missed you so much." But by the time my sentence finished, she was already gone.

Once she vanished, everyone else I managed to get to know and become close to began to appear and disappear, flickering as they moved closer and closer to me until it was just Hiruzen standing in front of my quivering, shacken up body.

 _"It's time for change, Sumiko. Not everyone can come to your aid when something bad goes on."_

"I already know this! I'll train, I'll train. Everyone has already said this!" I grabbed my hair and bunched it up. "Please, I already know." He looked at me with sad eyes and backed away.

 _"I hope life fairs you well, Sumiko."_

"W-wait, you're leaving, too? You just got here. I don't understand, why are you here? Why is everyone here?" Hiruzen didn't answer, instead he melted into the ground, a smile shaping his face.

My arm was stretched out in any attempt to stop the rest of my friends disappearing, all of them fading off at the same time.

My breathing spiked up, and my vision started to darken. _No, not yet. I don't want them gone yet._ "Give them back, don't leave me!"

;

My eyes cracked open, staring at the blurry morning sky, the tree tops gently swaying with the wind. I pushed myself up and looked around; red berries were sitting in a small, scattered out pile. I slammed my hand to my face, groaning long and hard.

 _What in_ the _hell._

I rested my head against my balled up fist, the knuckles digging into my skin. I sighed deeply and pulled my legs together to sit Indian style. Calming my mind, I shut my eyes and breathed softly in and out. _Now would be the perfect time to meditate. Especially after everything from last night._

"Sumiko?" I cracked an eye open, not sure if I actually heard my name. A few seconds passed before I heard it again, closer this time. I turned my head just in time to see a crow fly out from the forest and quickly take Itachi's form.

"I-Itachi!" I yelled out, falling slightly while I staggered up. Tingles shot up my legs as the blood rushed through them. He ran to me and gathered my falling body into his arms, hugging me tightly while I cried loudly into his shoulder.

"I'm almost here. I'll be within distance in about five miles. I'm so glad you're safe." He breathed into my ear.

"I was so scared for you, Itachi! I didn't know if you died or not. I'm so happy to see you, you don't even know." I sobbed out, clutching onto the clones clothes.

"Everything's alright now, Sumiko." He held me for a few more minutes, letting my crying calm into nothing, then pushed me under his arm. "Why do you have hallucinative (I really hope this is a word lol) berries?"

"Hallucinative?" _I guess that explains it all._

"Yes, I forget their actual name, but you can tell them apart from other berries by the dots around the stem. And..it looks like you ate a bunch." He looked around at the stems that were uncharacteristically thrown to the side. "How are you not sick? So many at a time can be extremely dangerous."

"I'm not sure. Orochimaru's sidekick said that I must be immune to some poisons because it doesn't effect me long." I said with a slight shrug.

"Orochimaru? How did he end up with you?" He questioned with alert.

"I'll tell you when you get here. I'm so tired, Itachi." I whined, my mind fogging up.

"Alright, come here." He said, sitting down. He patted his thigh and looked up at me expectantly. "You're not too prone to those berries. It's still taking a tole on you." I again shrugged and plopped down onto his lap, snuggling deeply into his chest. "Rest, now. Everything is going to be alright."

"I don't know about that." A voice said in the distance. Itachi tensed underneath me, sighing out loud.

"I feel like I can never get a break." He said in annoyance, gently pushing me off him so he could stand up. I stood up with him, watching as he put his body in front of mine, like Sasuke did a day prior.

"That girl. She has an explosive seal on her back. I'll give her to you, with no damage, if you give me what I want." He spoke bitterly, a snake lazily sliding out from under his robes.

"Hn." Itachi mumbled, staring at the snake of a man with a scowl. "And what makes you think I even know what you're talking about?" He asked dumbly.

"Oh, Itachi. You know exactly what I'm talking about." Orochimaru stated, slithering his tongue out. "So what shall it be?"

The real Itachi landed behind me in a crouch, his Sharingan wild and blazing.

"He's under a genjutsu. He doesn't know I'm here." He whispered, lifting my shirt up in the back. He pulled a couple things off my skin and threw them towards the trees, pulling quick hand signs and igniting them. A loud explosion tore Orochimaru's eyes from the clone Itachi to the tree lines, staring in anger at the smoke smoldering up into the air behind us.

"Dammit!" He seethed.

"You're looking a little weak, should you be out prowling around?" The real Itachi asked, standing up and letting the fake dissipate. He stared at his opponents arms as they hung limply to his sides; the discoloration was pronounced out in the daylight.

"Don't patronize me, boy." The snake man sneered out.

"Is this the only reason you ended up with her?" Itachi looked at him in question. "You wouldn't be able to handle my eyes. You're too weak." He stated calmly.

"Give me your eyes!" Orochimaru screamed, running to us.

Itachi summoned crows, a horde of them appearing and surrounding the criminal. It was a never ending stream of them, some appearing out of thin air.

"Come on," Itachi said, grabbing my arm and swinging me onto his back, "let's go while he's distracted."

He took off at a quick pace, darting passed trees and leaving no trail behind. Within an hour, the forest came to an end and a meadow took its place, even with the same road we were traveling on days before.

"I would've never thought you'd be so close to where I was. I looked everywhere besides _here_." Itachi commented once he sat me on my own two feet. "It's been hell."

"Yeah, I can agree to that. Though most of the time I was knocked out so I don't really remember most of it." I said with a frown.

"As long as you're alright. This was easier than I expected, I thought a fight would've happened between me and the masked man. I was preparing myself." He admitted with a small smile. I smiled in return, walking into his side and gave him a hug. He twisted around so I ended up in his arms. "That town we were heading to is a few hours away. Let's head there and then we can talk. You look exhausted."

I nodded my head in agreement and hopped upon his back when he crouched.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" An hour had passed and the wheezing I heard start up a few minutes ago was slowly getting worse.

"Like I said, I was preparing myself. I saved my energy to fight, and instead used it to run away. I'm starting to ware down a little. But everything is fine, I can last another hour or so." Itachi threw his head back, shoving his pony tail in my face. "A nice fan would help, though." He said with a smile.

I grabbed his hair and pulled, making his head go back even farther. His steps faltered as he winced in pain, nearly dropping me when I let go. He turned his head to look at me, his eyes narrowed. I smiled and laughed, wrapping his head in my arms and pulling him to my chest.

"Thank you, Itachi."

He stopped running and dropped me on my butt, standing there looking off into the distance. I groaned in pain as my cheeks were grinding into small rocks and pebbles, and stood up.

"That hurt." I commented offhandedly.

"Yeah, you hurt me, too." He said in a soft tone. He turned around and looked at me, a smile on his face. "That was pay back."

I stared at him for a second, taking in how childish yet manly he looked with such a smile marking his face. I stepped forward hesitantly until I was chest to chest with him, and grabbed his face with my hands. The smile disappeared as we both looked into each other's eyes.

"Thank you, Itachi." I repeated, bringing his face closer to mine. I smiled a little before pressing a tender kiss to his chin.

* * *

 _ **Revised 10/26/16**_

 **No big changes, just a few errors fixed.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Paying that little attention can get you killed, Sumiko." A whisper sounded in my ear. My body jolted in surprise, almost toppling out of the tree I was in. My arm was grabbed and pulled, securing my place on the small limb. I whipped around and stared at a smirking Itachi. _How did he find me so fast? I didn't even sense him._ He was leaned up against the tree, supporting his weight on a lone branch. "Not everyone will have their chakra signature out in the open like the majority. There are keen Shinobi that can blend completely in with their surroundings. You need to listen for breathing, for footsteps, for _anything_ that sounds out of order compared to the rest of the forest around you." This time he pushed me out of the tree, jumping down to the ground with me.

"I'll give you a little more time to hide in a different spot. _Listen_ for me. I will block all traces of chakra signature. You've got two minutes." He said, turning his back towards my direction, hands clasped behind him. I hurriedly snuck off, being careful of any unnecessary loudness or leaving tracks.

I found myself at an enclosure, the bushes and trees hiding my body from all angles once I got myself situated. I sat in a crouch and took a deep breath, hiding any detectable chakra that might draw attention to my location. My eyes closed as I relaxed from the air that was trapped in my lungs. _Pay attention._ I heard the forest around me- the inhabitants scattering about and making noises. I smelled the flowers that recently bloomed, their scent sweet and so pungent it almost caused a headache. I pushed a little chakra to my ears, and a pandemonium of noises rang freely. The sound of a bird's wings flapping created a vibration of forceful _wooshes._ More wing flapping sounded, and a distant _caw!_ rang out along with a few others. Opening my eyes, I placed my palms flat on the ground and leaned my ear into the tickling grass. It was quiet the first moments of listening, but a low tremor could be heard from continuous footsteps hitting the ground. The closer they got, the more hesitant the tremors became.

I pulled myself back into a crouch and carefully moved a couple leaves to create an opening. Itachi was a few feet away, standing still as he looked vigilantly around. He surveyed the area for a couple seconds more, and then jumped attentively onto a limb above me. If it wasn't for the chakra rushing to my ears, I wouldn't of heard the quiet thump of his shoes connecting with the bark. Moving the leaves out of my view again, I observed his form jumping from tree limb to tree limb, soon leaving my line of sight. I let out a calm breath and turned back around.

My face came in contact with something soft and warm, my nose gliding against it's. Red eyes stared into mine; he was so close that I could see the tomoes of his sharingan slightly move around his pupil. A sharp scream left my mouth while I involuntarily smacked Itachi's face. His body slumped forward as he grabbed his reddening cheek, causing twigs in the enclosure to snap, and leaves to fall. I fell back on my butt with a slight gasp.

"Ugh, what the hell?" He uttered out. He pulled himself back up and looked at me with a small glare.

"You're cheating!" I bellowed, sticking out an accusing finger at him. "It's not fair that you can use your eyes while I have little to no training!" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me up.

"You actually did very well. I sent out a few crows and had them to transform into a clone, I wouldn't of noticed you if you didn't move the leaves above you. You gave yourself away. I only activated my sharingan to make sure you were even there. I thought I'd surprise you but now I regret it." He complained, rubbing his cheek gently.

"Oh, you poor baby." I cooed, pinching his other cheek while I walked passed him.

;

"I know how to hold a kunai, Itachi. You _did_ train me a little before you left. Sasuke showed me a few things, too." My voice was laced with annoyance as I watched Itachi talk and show me fundamental uses of the weapon, _that I already knew of_. I wasn't necessarily mad at him, just disappointed that I sucked at everything else he's taught me in these last few hours; ranging from walking on water to throwing shuriken.

"I know," he muttered in his own annoyance, "but it's best to go over basic stuff when you don't handle kunai daily."

"I just think it's a waste of time to be going over this when I've already had training with it." I spoke out defiantly, turning my head away from him in childish way. I peeked over towards him when a soft sigh escaped from his mouth, watching as he gently cradled his head and rubbed at his temples. "What, you regret training me now?" I asked with narrowed eye, placing my hands on my waist.

"And where did you get that assumptio-"

"Maybe I'm just not cut out for learning the shinobi lifestyle. Beginner genin know how to do more stuff than I can and I'm five times their age!" I took to rubbing at my own head when Itachi sighed again.

"How about we do a little trick." He suggested, pulling a small piece of paper out of his pocket after he sat the kunai down with a row of shuriken. "This will tell us what your chakra nature is; which, there are five. Fire, wind, lightening, earth, and water, the Five Great Shinobi Nations are named for these elements. There is also yin and yang release, but we'll go over that another time." He handed me the paper, and I took it gently, afraid of messing it up. "All you have to do is let your chakra flow through it, I'll demonstrate." He took another piece of paper from his pocket and held it between his point and middle fingers. A flame licked it's way up from the tips of his fingers, to the very top, singeing the paper into ashes. The burnt pieces floated to the ground in a scattered mess, and Itachi wiggled his fingers, releasing a few more that were trapped between them. "Most shinobi's chakra leans towards one of the elements. The Uchiha's naturally leans towards fire, which explains why there are many fire based jutsu and why we excel in learning it quickly."

I held mine the same way, staring intently at it as I felt a surge of my chakra run to my fingers, slicing the paper neatly in half. "What does that mean?" I questioned, holding the sliced paper up.

"You're chakra nature is wind; pretty powerful and also rare." He informed with a smile. I smiled back, pride spurting up inside of me for some reason. "It is weak against fire; but will help fuel it, and strong against lightening. A combo attack with fire would make it very powerful, depending on how strong the jutsu and the castor is."

"I need to learn a powerful jutsu then, so I can pair up with you. We'll become unstoppable." I said with a huge grin. I was giddy, like a schoolgirl speaking to her crush. I felt like I just discovered an important part of my life. With Itachi as my "sensei", I could make my parents and teacher proud. I can make _myself_ proud.

"I know a few wind jutsu, I can teach you the things I've learned."

"But I thought you said that your chakra nature was fire?" I asked, crumbling the papers up and throwing them at his head.

"It is, but I also have wind, water, yin, and yang release. Some shinobi have the ability to use other chakra natures as well." He caught the pieces when they bounced off his head, and threw them back.

"That's so neat." I moved out of the way and let the papers fall to the ground, staring at Itachi with a new admiration.

 **(A/N: I couldn't find any wind release jutsu Itachi used, granted I only looked on one website, so I'm not going to use any A ranked jutsu, just C and possibly B)**

"Would you like to start now? We can wait until the morning if you would like, though. Learning a new jutsu can be tidious." Itachi suggested, picking up the mess we made with the papers and stuffed them back in his pocket.

"Lets start now!" I felt so young, like a teenager again. _It made me feel happy._

;

"I will teach you Wind Release: Great Breakthrough first. It is considered a C rank, but really it just depends on how strong you create it." Itachi said, putting distance between us. "It could be weak and insignificant, or strong and powerful." **(Again, I didn't find any wind release jutsu Itachi did, I just looked up some with the intention of it being a C rank)** His hands moved quick, so in fact that I didn't even get a glimpse of the signs needed to make the jutsu, and soon after, a gust of wind escaped his mouth. The trees quaked as the wind pushed against them- leaves flying everywhere along with branches and twigs. I stared in amazement at Itachi when he stopped, some leftover wind slowly dying down but still pushing the fallen leaves around in a twirling dance. "Basically that's all there is to it."

"What are the hand seals?" I questioned when he walked closer to me.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think to slow down and show you those." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, and I smiled. "There's five hand seals: tiger, ox, dog, rabbit, snake." He showed me how to make the correct seals by doing one for each animal he named. _Alright, seems easy enough._

 _*thirty minutes later*_

"Sumiko, I didn't even _show_ you that seal, why do you keep adding it into this?" I wiggled my fingers, quickly becoming aggravated, but I attempted one more time. "You misplaced the ox and snake. Here, let me show you again." Itachi suggested, bringing his hands together.

"Gah!" I screamed, and Itachi jumped in surprise. I took a deep breath in and loudly let it escape. "Lets just do this tomorrow." The sun was going down and I was tired. All the training Itachi was doing with me was starting to take its toll. Itachi grinned but nodded.

"Alright, I didn't expect you to last long anyways. You've used a lot of energy today, but nonetheless, you've accomplished a lot. I'm proud of you." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led us back to the village we've been staying at, a smile secretly on my face the entire walk back.

* * *

"I'm surprised Tobi let you in on so much information." Itachi mused, mostly to himself. "Did he say specifically _when_ this 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' will be taking place? Did he hint at any certain time?"

"No, all I know is what I've told you." I replied with a shake of my head. Cho brought in two plates of food and sat them down in front of us. Once again, she pulled me into a hug. It's been three days since Itachi brought me here, and every chance that Cho gets, she hugs me. "I still can't believe you gave a stranger the truths of our kekkei genkai."

"I know, I know. This bag of bones is stupid." She said, frowning deeply. I sighed and turned to my plate, picking up some chopsticks and digging in. Today's training kicked my ass royally.

"No need to say that," I commented, "but what's done is done. I at least got some kind of information out of all of this." Itachi stared at me for awhile, but nodded his head slightly in agreement.

;

It was a few hours past the time everyone headed to bed, but all I could do was toss and turn, twisting my sheets up into a ball. I quietly got out of bed and went outside, shutting the door softly. I sat on the ground and looked at the black sky, taking notice of the stars littering it in every direction. _Beautiful._

"Couldn't sleep either?" I flinched slightly, and looked back at the house, seeing Itachi's figure sitting on the roof.

"Uh, no. Too much on my mind." I confessed.

"Same." He jumped down silently and took a seat beside of me. "I couldn't get over the fact that he told you he was going to revive Madara Uchiha back. I know he tells others his name is Tobi, but at one time he had me call him Madara."

"You've been in contact with him before?" Itachi hesitated, but nodded his head.

"The night before the massacre, I caught him snooping around the outer village. We talked a bit, and I could tell he was an Uchiha. He called himself Madara. It was obvious he was going to attack the Hidden Leaf in some way, so I made a deal with him; help me rid of the clan instead of harming the Leaf. He agreed." I sat up and watched Itachi, processing this new information. "He killed the most, I only dealt with close relatives."

"Itachi.."

"That's why I'm so shocked about so many different name changes with this guy. Makes me wonder who he really is." Itachi states, directing the conversation away from his clan. I understood and kept my mouth closed, deciding to instead cuddle up to his side and stare at the stars once again. "So, a penny for your thoughts?" He asked, looking down at me.

I blushed slightly, thankful for the darkness surrounding us. If he knew my thoughts were all about _him_... "No, thanks though." I laughed nervously and shoved my face into his chest.

He laughed deeply, "Alright then."

* * *

 **I don't know the story with Obito helping Itachi with the clan, I just know that he was there in some way (I read upon it awhile back). If the information is totally wrong (which it probably is), just understand that I have no idea what actually happened.**

 **In other news: Today marks the one year anniversary for this fanfic, and I'm excited to share this with you! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me since the beginning, it means a lot and I cherish every fav/follow/review that there is! I'd like to think that in some way throughout this year, my writing has improved. I hope so at least lol. Probably not, I haven't been giving it my all in the last few months.**

 **p.s. I got Sumiko's chakra nature by taking a few quizzes - which all turned out to be wind lol. I would put some links down for you guys to see what yours are, but I guess fanfiction won't let me, sorry! I tried xD**

 _ **Please review, it would mean a lot!**_ **(Nothing too mean, though, I'll cry lol)**


	18. Chapter 18

"There are Leaf Village Jounin scouting around this area in search of you." Itachi stated quietly, handing me a plate. We were in the middle of doing the dishes; he was washing, and I was drying. It had been silent for awhile, and I was content with the soft splashes of water, and the streak of noise that the dishes made when thoroughly cleaned.

It wasn't necessarily a conversation I wanted to have, but then again I wasn't exactly avoiding it either. My own thoughts about the matter- me leaving the Leaf Village so abruptly- had me worrying slightly. It was a nuisance to think about, making me ask myself questions that I didn't know the answer to, or if I even _wanted_ to know the answer to. But, then again, it was a discussion that had to be, well, discussed.

It's just that, if Sasuke considered me a traitor to the Leaf, would the others as well? Kakashi? Naruto? Hiruzen, if he was still alive and well? All of them? I willingly left, without telling a single soul. Technically, I should be considered a criminal; I defected away from the village at my own will.

The plate in my hand shook slightly. _Would I be executed once found? It would only make sense. They could possibly think I went to another country, and me being close to the late Third Hokage could cause problems of them believing I'm selling information out. Danzo probably talked it into all of their heads that I'm a dangerous lunatic that needs put down._

"I've been keeping track of them for awhile now; their mission is to find a kidnapped woman who is being held hostage by the Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki, huh?" I questioned softly, setting the now dry plate down and grabbing another dish he was handing over.

It was ridiculous to think of, but concerning the situation at the inn when Itachi and Kisame were trying to capture Naruto, spiraling stories easily could've escaped Jiraiya's and Naruto's mouths. Even Sasuke's, but I would've been considered an enemy if he told his part of the adventure that went down.

"I've put up a genjutsu strong enough for them to divert away from this village, but I'm not positive if it'll keep them away for good. I'm not for certain they're even heading this way, I'm just being cautious. I've also spotted some Root members about a day away from here, though I'm not entirely sure if it's you specifically they're after."

"Tch," I angrily spat, basically throwing the cup I had possession of onto the counter, "if it's the Root I have no doubt in my mind they're after me. Danzo would do anything to see me suffer."

"I just think we need to lay low for awhile." Itachi suggested, taking the plug out of the sink and watching the water drain. "Training can be put on hold for a couple of days. Let this all blow over for now, I don't want to attract any unwanted attention."

"Yeah, I agree." Although I should be serious about the situation at hand, I couldn't help but feel slightly giddy at the fact we can finally get a break, or more specifically, _me._ That boy worked me harder these past two weeks than I've ever experienced since coming to the Leaf Village. My muscles haven't been this wore out in a long time.

* * *

 _"No, focus." Amaterasu sensei commanded, putting a firm hand on my shoulder. "This part of your training is very important, so you need to take it seriously. Drawing in nature chakra can be dangerous, and in order to ensure your safety, you need to_ focus _."_

 _"But it's so hot, sensei!" I groaned out, throwing my body back and rested in the grass. The sun was high in the sky, and today was possibly one of the hottest days we've come across this summer. Even a slight breeze didn't lift up the heavy air sticking to our bodies._

 _We sat in silence for a good while, but I heard a sigh of exasperation._

 _"Sumiko, your training this week is nearing its completion. The faster you can wrap up this technique, the faster it is we can go home and rest up without having to add another day to the calendar of months."_

 _"I understand, Amaterasu sensei. I really do." I stated, lifting my hands out towards the sky and trying to grasp the slightly gray clouds. "But I've been going at it nonstop these past few weeks. I'm exhausted and I want a small break, even if it's me just sitting here and staring at the sky." I admitted longingly, staring intently above me._

 _After a moment of thinking, sensei stood up from her meditation pose, "Come on, there's something I would like you to see."_

 _;_

 _She took me to the location where the clan leaders made decisions, a small temple looking place at the top of the mountain. We entered, a guard bowing down at the sight of me. I laughed nervously and waved my hand at him._

 _"No, please, there's no need to do that." I squeaked out. He still didn't rise, and when we reached the end of the room, I turned back to see him facing our direction and still bowing. "Ugh, why does everyone do that to me now?"_

 _"Because, technically, you are considered royalty." Amaterasu sensei said, sliding a door open and ushering me through._

 _If I had a mouth full of water, it would've been everywhere. I wanted to scoff at that- I grew up being a member of the poor part of the clan. We owned a small farm that was positioned at the very end of the clan's property, a two our trek from the edge of our small adobe to the center where the main branch lived. I was nothing until this power come about, something I never really heard of before until around the time that I, myself, possessed it. I was anything_ but _royalty._

 _Amidst my thinking, I didn't even have time to look at the place we were currently in. Though it probably wouldn't of been much to stare at to other people, I never really got to see such extravagant designs and decor inside of one place at once. It was magnificent, if I was being honest._

 _"Come, it's right in here." Sensei said, opening another door, but this time with a key. I walked through the doorway and gasped, taking in the sight._

 _"I didn't even know this existed." I stated in awe, looking at the painted portraits of past ancestors that once had the kekkei genkai flowing through their veins._

 _"Not many do," Amaterasu sensei admitted, "mostly the clan leaders and anyone else associated with the Miyoko know of this room." She walked passed me and pointed towards the back of the room. "Over there is a door, it leads into a small library that gives information about the past Miyoko bearers." I went to where she pointed, but instead of going into the other room, I stopped to admire the first painting hung up, and continued in a line to see the other ones, all including maximum detail. I took notice of the differences between each person, as well as the similarities. "I figured I could let you relax while also still doing my job." Sensei smiled at me, and I returned the gesture._

 _"Thanks for being so considerate." I said sarcastically, reaching the end of a row. I soon encountered another row, and noticed a pattern once I ended with the last known Miyoko before myself. "Each millennia and a quarter starts over with the opposite gender. It began with males, and after four people, there was females, which also had four. And then it goes back to males, and so on and so forth."_

 _"Yes, it shows a balance of the power between man and woman. After you, it will start over with the males again. It is said that when it starts over like that, the Miyoko changes in power and becomes more manageable to control."_

 _"Everyone makes it seem like this power is difficult to handle. With training every day, I've come to realize it's becoming second nature. It's not difficult at all, only tiresome. I think... I think pretty soon it's going to activate. I just_ feel _it changing inside of me." I got close to a particular painting, staring intently at it. "She kind of looks like me." I murmured, becoming distracted. The resemblance was uncanny._

 _"That's wonderful it feels that way, Sumiko. All this training is progressing you well." She said, walking over to the painting I was gazing at. "And that is a direct relative to you, her name was Takako. She was the first female that started again in this "generation" of Miyoko bearers. Aiko," She pointed to a woman in the group of four that started before the last group of males. She was the last female in that group, "was the first to gain complete control over the Miyoko, and is a direct descendant to Takako. Both had outstanding control, so we're hoping you'll be as successful, if not more so."_

 _"How did such a long line of people not gain control of the Miyoko?" I questioned. Technically, it wasn't that long ago that this happened. "I find it a little unbelievable close to fifteen people didn't have control over something that can come so naturally."_

 _"Like I said, each generation's powers were different and easier to understand and control. Aiko was naturally gifted, anyhow. She activated her Miyoko at the very young age of twenty. Back then, that usually didn't happen until the later twenties, and on into the early thirties. But after her, usually the activation happened around the early to mid twenties." She looked away from the paintings and at me instead. "We're assuming that you're going to activate it even younger than that. Aiko mastered it within three years, and was the only one so far to achieve that in such a short amount of time. With you though, it could be less than that at the pace you are going."_

 _"Feels like I'll be a big disappointment if that doesn't happen." I rolled back on my heels, then forward on my tiptoes. It was scary to think of the reaction the clan would have if I didn't master this fast enough. I would be letting everyone down, including Amaterasu sensei, no matter what she says about it._

 _"You've only been training for five months, and your seventeenth birthday will be coming up within six months. With the way things are looking, Sumiko, you won't hit twenty without having at least activated your power."_

 _"It's still a little nerve wracking." I whispered, looking over the paintings again._

 _"That's understandable, and it's okay. If anything, don't feel pressured. Especially by me, I'm here to teach you, not make you feel uncomfortable." She informed, putting a hand on my back, her touch soft and gentle as opposed to earlier._

 _"Yeah, I know." I told her with a smile, "Come on! Let's go train some more."_

 _;_

 _She monitored me closely, watching if I was taking in too little or too much nature chakra. After many failed attempts along with a couple half successful ones, sensei called it a day when the sun went down and the little bit of light that was left slowly started going away._

 _I broke away from my position with a moan of pain, rolling over onto my side._

 _"Let's go, your mother is probably wondering where you are."_

 _"I don't think I can move." Which, in all honesty, I didn't think I could. My limbs felt strongly numbed, and if I could, I would've stayed right where I was at and slept. Probably not peacefully, but sleep nonetheless. "I never imagined drawing in nature chakra would be so tiring."_

 _"Well, of course, you're bringing in foreign chakra into your system. You did really well today, though, I'm proud of you." Amaterasu sensei said softly, grabbing my hand I reached out, and helped pull me up._

 _My legs felt like how the water in my tub looked when I got in, moving everywhere and not staying still. I grabbed teachers shoulder for support, and took a deep breath._ I can do this. _I listened to my mind and trudged forward, a new determination welling up on trying to get home without having to be carried._

 _"I feel so wore out!" I cried, throwing my head back in exasperation._

* * *

 **Can I take a moment and rant to you guys? This isn't anything important, but if you want to read then have at it.**

 **I cannot stand when I look for Itachi stories, and he's this evil villain that is a complete dickhead. I know people have their rights to make their story however they want, but that is so out of character for him. He's not evil, he's a kindhearted individual that looks out for people. He puts others well being before himself. To me, that's like portraying Hinata of being a slut (lol terrible comparison I know). I know I most likely haven't made Itachi be the character he really is, but I don't think I've made him completely ooc, either. If it seems like I have, then I'm sorry that I haven't made this story to reach your standards, and I'm genuine about that; I want everyone who reads my story to like it and find it enjoyable. But the Itachi in my story is literally how I've took him to be. No evil man is going to basically give up his life for the better of other people. Like I said though, I understand that people have the right to make it how they want it to be, and that this is all fanfiction. Itachi is just an amazing character and doesn't deserve to be thought of as a murdering psycho. I'm sorry if I offended anyone reading this, I just had to let it out.**

 **But on a nicer note: Thank you for the follows/favs/reviews. I love all of you so much!**


	19. Chapter 19

Three days passed; there were no more Leaf Village shinobi scouting the area, and Danzo's crew left as well. During that short time, Itachi taught me very simple jutsu that all shinobi should know; one of them being the Shadow Clone jutsu. I've been practicing it since Itachi discovered the shinobi, and I have gotten nowhere with it. That, and along with the fact that Cho wouldn't leave my side and _still_ continued to apologize to me for the whole Tobi incident, has got me at my wits end. Staying cooped up in this house (which should technically be called a shack for how tiny it was) was starting to take its toll. It's been a little over a week of staying here, and I seriously wanted to get a move on so I could find the books that Cho was speaking of. But Itachi's health was more important at the moment, and it was something I could wait out. Yesterday we had a healing session, but more was going to be needed if he wanted to feel a little more like his self again.

"Taking a break?" I was sitting in front of the house staring off into the woods, indeed taking a break.

"Yes, my body is tired." I told Itachi with a groan. He sat down next to me, laying back with his arms supporting his head. I watched him close his eyes, and decided to copy him. "Where exactly are we?" I asked once I got situated. It's been so busy lately I haven't even had a chance to think of our location.

"We're in a small village on the border of Land of Fangs and Claws. A couple days travel will get us to the Land of Wind and we can take a shortcut to the Land of Rivers. It'll be a couple weeks worth of traveling." He said with his eyes still closed.

 _It's like he memorized a map. Also, the fact that the only reason it'd take so long is because I'm not as fast as him. I can't expect change in a week, but I'm still as useless as I was last month._ I sighed at my thoughts and let my head fall back, the softness of my arms cradled me. _Softness of my arms, heh. No muscle definition._

"Stop moping." Itachi commanded. I turned to look at him, his eyes still closed and looking on the verge of falling asleep. "I can practically hear what you're thinking."

"Well, sorry for not being a master concealer of my emotions." I frowned, staring at the cloudy sky. Big puffballs of cottony clouds indicated it would probably rain within the next few days _._ "Say, what's your favorite food? I know Sasuke's, but I guess I never took the time to memorize yours." I asked randomly, staring at him. He turned his head and looked at me briefly before closing his eyes again.

"Rice balls, but I think you already knew that." He muttered with a small smile. "What is Sasuke's?"

I laughed a little, making out different objects in the sky. "His is the same, but he likes it with okaka. Oh! He likes tomatoes as well. When I'd get some, he'd always take one and go sit outback to eat it raw. There was this small porch, and he'd always make a mess on it with the juices and seeds." I said with a smile, thinking back on the memories. And the fact that _I_ was the one that cleaned up his mess every time.

Itachi was quiet for awhile, and at some point I sat up to see if he actually fell asleep.

"I'm glad you have fond memories of my little brother." I stared at him for a minute, and grinned.

"You've got fond memories too, Itachi. And you know what that means?" I questioned. He opened an eye to look at me. "It means that he has fond memories of you as well. It doesn't matter what you've told him, he may have a wicked train of thought when you're mentioned, but he will always have the memories of the things you two done when you were younger. Of the time spent as brothers." I picked at the grass a little, a sad smile taking place of the grin. "You will always be his older brother, no matter what memories he chooses to side with."

Itachi rolled his body half way, laying on his side and facing me. I stopped picking at the grass and looked at him. A wave of emotions passed through his eyes, and at some points they would glaze over. He reached his arm out to me, pulling me and making me lay awkwardly over top of him. His hand slid up to my neck, cupping it and brought it closer so he could rest his face against my chest. For a brief moment, I thought I felt his body shake, but thought it would be best to dismiss it and leaned closer to him, making myself more comfortable for the both of us.

;

Another week passed, and Itachi reassured me many times that he was healing just fine before we made a decision to move on out. We packed up everything we owned, albeit not really much, and said our farewells to Cho.

"It's been an honor to meet you, Sumiko. I hope that life brings you many years of happiness." The old woman spoke, smiling fondly with a hand pressed against my shoulder. Her smile slowly disappeared into a quiver, tears welling up in her eyes. With a surprising amount of strength, the grip on my shoulder tightened as she pulled my body to hers. My eyes widened briefly before my heart pinched a little. Even though she came out to be sort of a hassle, I was beyond happy to of met her. With the new memories I've gotten with her rushing through my head, I encased her frail body in my arms, my own smile forming. "Alright, alright," She said at last, pulling away from me, "lets get down to business." She turned to Itachi, and with the sternest look she could muster, commanded Itachi to take care of me and keep me safe.

"I think we've concluded that he's done a fine job so far." I smiled at her. She nodded in agreement before pulling Itachi into a quick hug.

"You two be safe now, you hear? If you need to get away for awhile, you know where I'm staying! Also, don't forget about the herbs I've given you." Cho stated with a laugh.

"Of course, I'm sure we will take you up on your offer in the near future, and the herbs are in a safe place, no worries about that." Itachi assured, putting his pack on. I followed suit, and with one last goodbye, set off.

* * *

 **I'm astounded, guys. I've had over 1,000 views since chapter 18 was posted. That's crazy (to me)! All I've got to say is thank you lol. And speaking of views... It makes me upset that I've got over 9,000 but yet hardly anyone has posted reviews. I'm very thankful for the ones that have, and I'm not seeking the reviews for the number, but rather for the fact that you guys would be sharing your opinions with me and letting me know if you guys are enjoying this story. That's important to me, and I'd be even more thankful if more people started reviewing. I love you all whether or not, though. (: I had troubles with this chapter, so I'm sorry for the delay and the shortness. I've decided that the next chapter will progress into a two year time skip to get everything (semi) caught up.**

 **Also, about them being in the Land of Fangs. Ugh, lemme tell you how difficult it was to find an actual decent Narutoverse map. I found one where it said that the Land of Mountains was near the Land of Bears (The place where the meteor hit that one village (I think is called the Star Village)), but then I also found a few more that said it was instead near the Land of Fangs, so I'm just going along with that one. I literally searched different maps for around an hour. It was starting to get tiresome lol.**

 **I minds well continue on with this long ass A/N and talk about my feelings lol. College started up for a lot of the people I graduated with, and I decided a few months ago I'd wait college out until I figured out what exactly I wanted to do with my life. With no job, car, and not going to college, I feel like a major failure and I feel like I ruined my entire chance at adulthood. I've been getting stressed thinking about college, and the fact I've got some family that won't let it rest, and it's really starting to depress me. Do you guys think I'm a failure? I'm almost 19 and I've accomplished nothing to prove that I've graduated high school and became an adult. Idk, it's all just getting under my skin. Okay, I'm done talking now lol. Don't want to drag this out more than I should. Next chapter will be posted within due time :D**


	20. Chapter 20

_This is it, the time has come._

It was early morning, the sun barely up and awake, as I eerily stood at the foot of the bed and stared at Itachi's sleeping form. I took the time to admire his well matured face- his twentieth birthday passed about five months ago, and boy did he look the part. Though he still had some aspects of childish baby fat in his features, it was easily overridden by his alarmingly increasing "manly physique" (as I like to call it, secretly of course). Not only did his face lose almost all of its' complete teenage youthfulness, but he had, presumably, his final growth spurt a few months back that rocketed him up an extra two and a half inches in just over a six week period. The boy I once knew was now an actual man, and not the version I used to refer to when he was still a teenager that was halfway budding into adulthood.

Two and a half years ago was when I began my life with Itachi Uchiha. After leaving Cho's new home in the Land of Fang, we made our way back to the cabin Itachi and I were once upon a time staying at, only to find it completely destroyed, most likely by either Tobi, or someone in the Akatsuki. It originally resided at the north-western part of the Land of Rivers, near the Wind country. After much work, and practically a year later since the Akatsuki frequently requested Itachi, we (yes, him and I along with his clones, and my own that I mastered) rebuilt a smaller, more hidden cabin south of the criminal base (at least, that's what Itachi said), and near the Land of Fires' border. We were pretty much treading on eggshells being so close, but with not only natural protection from mother nature, we also have protection from the genjutsu that Itachi manages to keep up almost always. In the other year, I ventured out sort of by myself and sort of not (Itachi would be on missions and would "secretly" follow me to ensure my safety. He'd get his job done while somehow also being with me, most likely through a clone), to do some research on the Keiko books Cho wrote. No leads came up, and just last month I decided to take a break from it. If fate wanted me to find the books, it would happen at some point.

Within these two years, though, I've gained a better understanding of Itachi. Although I knew him to be gentle at heart since, well, _always_ , there was a blinding difference in the soft Itachi I once knew, to the soft Itachi now. He became more attached, even if just subtly. From small critters I'd catch around the cabin, up to clothing that he used to wear but grew out of. He was always hesitant to get rid of it, though I could understand since it was actual Uchiha clothing made within his clan walls. Whatever he wore on his back now was from clothing shops in random villages. Even though he claimed it didn't bother him to rid of the items, I knew at heart it was something hard to do. So, trying to ease the pain, I took the clothes and made a pillowcase. There was only four shirts, but they each had a crest sown on the back, and I managed to design the pillowcase by lining the crests up and had them surrounded by large squares of either black or gray. It definitely wasn't Uchiha made, but at least it would provide him comfort if need be.

Behind my back, I fingered the material, quaking slightly with frayed nerves. Itachi was the type of person to graciously accept something, even if terrible, with a kind smile from someone that he loved. I've witnessed it many times when a young Sasuke would give him gifts. I was afraid he wouldn't like it too well that I cut up his shirts and sewed them together, though, even if he did "throw" them out. But, I wasn't just giving him the pillowcase, I planned on telling him just exactly how I felt. I wasn't precisely confident about it, but really felt like it needed to be done so I could function properly around him again. He made me feel like a little girl crushing on her next door neighbor.

"Sumiko?" His groggy voice woke me from my internal thinking. I had been staring a hole in the floor the entire time, not knowing when exactly my gaze shifted from his sleeping face, but I quickly brought them back with a blink of my eyes. He sat up on the bed, sticking stray hairs behind his ear. "What is it? Are you alright?" I smiled softly and nodded my head. He looked at me quizzically, bunching his eyebrows together tightly. "What is it then?"

Whatever nerves I had left disappeared, and I felt my face begin to redden. I gulped noisily and walked backwards towards his door, moving my eyes away from his. _Dammit, if I can't give him a pillowcase, then I sure as hell can't tell him that I love him._

"I just, um, well..." I looked off to the side, not even staring at his body now. Thinking irrationally, I quickly walked backwards and out of his room, then sped to mine. In a rush I shut the door and ran to my tiny bed, stuffing the pillowcase in between the mattress and the wooden frame. He knocked briefly then opened the door, staring at my crouched form. I let out a nervous laugh and stood up, twisting my hands together.

"What is going on? Are you sure you're okay?" He questioned with a frown. Shutting my bedroom door, he walked over and took a seat on my bed, then proceeded to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yes, everything's fine."

"Then what did you hide under your bed?" I dove just as soon as Itachi, very fast might I add for someone that just awoke, reached under and pulled out the pillowcase. Smashing slightly into the side of the bed and into the floor, I almost felt horrified as Itachi held up his gift and studied the clan symbols with a blank expression.

"Did you make it?" He asked after he finished looking.

"Yes and no. The material is from your shirts, the only thing I done was sew them together." _Basically._ The thread I used came from his old pants, but there was no way I was telling him I went as far as to get the authentic threads to keep it completely "Uchihaish". Getting the strings had been the hardest part, surprisingly. It was difficult to find good ones that wouldn't snap too small.

He remained quiet, his fingers running over the soft material. He stood up and, after opening my door, walked out in the direction of his own room. I jumped up off the floor and followed, an apology bubbling up from my throat.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. If you would like, I will take it apart and put the shirts back together. It probably wouldn't look neat as before, but..." I looked off to the side for a second and slowed down. My hands starting picking at each other nervously, and I picked my pace back up again when I heard material movement in his room.

Stopping at his door frame, I watched as he gently took his pillow and placed it inside the case, and then sat it back onto his bed. I could feel the tears of relief well up in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. Without thinking, the words of my feelings spilled out in a mess.

"I think I'm in love with you, Itachi." I paused briefly as panic swarmed in my stomach. "Wait, no." Itachi looked at me the same way he looked at the pillowcase, completely expressionless. "I don't _think_ , I _know_. I know that I'm in love with you, Itachi Uchiha!" I said , my voice was higher and louder, and my fists were clenched together. I felt the tears rise back up again, but I continued to let them form, and they soon spilled down my cheeks in small streams. My bottom lip quivered as Itachi closed his eyes and smiled softly.

"This day has no ends of surprises and it's not even noon."

His response stung a little- it wasn't what I thought his first words would be once I declared my love to him.

" _I-Itachi! I'm so in love with you!" I cried out in joy as we embraced._

 _"My delicate flower, let us love each other for all eternity!"_

Instead of how my "delicate" imagination foretold, Itachi's smile disappeared and he instead stared at me.

"Say something!" I demanded with a frown, wiping away the tears. A few more awkward moments came and went as he continued to look at me, then, out of nowhere, his Sharingan flashed and his body burst into a bunch of crows. I stared in disbelief as they _cawed_ and flew in fast circles. I walked over to the tiny window and pushed it open, watching sadly as the birds found the exit and flew out.

 _Why did he leave at a time like this?_

;

It was dusk when he arrived at the front entrance of the cabin. I was coming out of the woods, a small basket hanging off my arm and full of berries, and saw him sitting on the tiny porch watching me walk across the grass. I already knew I looked a mess; I cried most of my day away in sadness. My eyes were puffy and red, and I could practically feel the pink splotches on my face and neck.

I tried to ignore him the closer that I got, and managed to do so until he grabbed my arm when I reached out to open the door. I jerked away slightly, but he kept a hold, though, and pulled me closer to him. My face was just below his chin, pressed lightly into his neck as he wrapped his arms around me. After a moment of thought, I reciprocated, wrapping my arms around his torso lightly.

"You're such a jerk." I whispered into his skin.

"Just understand that I needed to think. I never actually left; I followed you around the moment you left the cabin."

"Then why didn't you come out and talk to me?" I questioned, pulling away to look into his eyes.

"I needed to think about how I truly felt about you before I said anything. I always knew I felt something, but there's a difference between love and _being_ in love; I knew I loved you but I wasn't certain I was in love." He replied, the same look from earlier masking his true expressions.

"Oh." Was all I said in return, going back into the embrace.

"But, with my lengthy time away, I've concluded how I actually feel about you, and watching you so intensively helped with my decision making." I held onto his waist tighter, afraid of what his answer may be. "I need you to look at me, Sumiko."

"Why?"

"Because." I hesitated slightly, but pulled away from him completely. He followed my movements, keeping one arm around my neck and then placing a hand on my cheek. Once I raised my head to look at him, he crashed his lips to mine.

The kiss was urgent; rough and soft at the same time. With eyes closed, our lips formed together in its own tight embrace, tingling and sparking joy from within. The tingling spread from my lips to my toes, and then back again in time with the synchronization of our moving lips. With my heart rate practically no more, I placed my hand on Itachi's chest, right above his own heart, to feel his wild pitter patter of jumps.

He pulled away briefly, then brought his lips back down to my pouting ones in a more tender kiss. I was floating, the depth of the feelings overtaking me.

"I love you, Itachi." I said when he pulled away again. He looked into my eyes, brushing hairs away from my face, and then enclasped me again.

"I'm in love with you, Sumiko, I think I always have been. I love you."

* * *

 **Bruh, I don't know. Was this too early? Was it good enough? I hope it was okay timing, I don't want anything as delicate as love to be rushed. I've been hinting around of the growing feelings, and felt the two year time skip was a plausible excuse to get the ball rolling with the romance department. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and enjoyed such an early update!**

 **This is just me rambling again, but, have I ever explained what Sumiko looked like? I don't think I have, and I'm not really the type that likes to describe how my character looks in a story. When I read, I like to envision what the character looks like from my own imagination, but for the people that would like to know how I think Sumiko looks, I'll explain. (:**

 **One thing is certain: I can promise you her body isn't "curvy" like how other characters are portrayed in the fanfiction world (nothing wrong with it though). I've imagined it more like Iggy Azalea's body shape, but with a little less hip action going on lol. She stands more around the height of 5'4" to 5'6". I guess it just depends haha. Her hair is below her shoulder blades, and is a darkish brown. Her eye color is hazel, and I don't really see her wearing any makeup besides some mascara. She's really just an average Joe in my point of view. Well, this is it for today! I hope yall are doing great, and I appreciate the fav/follows/reviews. Love you guys, peace out until next time. :P**


	21. Chapter 21

I've decided to make this an information chapter and explain some unanswered things before I delve into the Shippuden part of the series; it's not an authors note, and hopefully you lot will treat as just an "extra" within the story. I created the idea of Sumiko and the Keiko clan before I even decided who I was pairing her with. I already knew how her powers would be and how she would use those powers at the end of the story once I chose Itachi. It was literally a coincidence that the Keiko clan died out. I didn't mean it to be like how the Uchiha clan is, it's just how it all progressed in my head. I wasn't trying to get them in the same boat and have them with similar back stories so they could have something in common. Besides for the kekkei genkai, the Keiko clan was of no importance for the rest of this story.

I'll be adding little snit bits of "story" so you guys will know how exactly Sumiko came to know some of the higher up people in the Leaf Village. Now that I think about it, I didn't realize I made my character into such a Mary Sue (though she's not powerful per se, she's just come to know a lot of important people (she is powerful in her own way, she just wasn't taught to be a shinobi, though Itachi is teaching/taught her some stuff)). It was an accident that she became "known", and the first person she met was Hashirama (though technically Tobirama, but nothing other than acknowledgement passed between the two), that's why he was mentioned in the earlier chapters when Sumiko left with Itachi and Itachi gave her the scrolls he found about her clan.

Hashirama is basically the "founder" of Sumiko when it comes to her being in touch with important people. Though she wasn't necessarily close to him, it was the people within the people that became friends, or whatever, with her. I wanted to address this because none of it was never mentioned in earlier chapters, and I highly doubt it'll be brought up in future chapters.

If you all noticed, there was a change in the way that Sumiko talked. Before, and during, her friendship with Itachi, she had sort of a proper way of talking. I died it down after awhile because I felt that since she was with him so much, and also making other "friends" (Sasuke, and because of him, Kakashi, Naruto, and even a little bit of Sakura), I feel like she progressed more with understanding that even though she will witness (in her head for the future) all of their deaths, it's okay to make bonds and get close to other people. And you know what they say, when you hang around someone for awhile, you pick up their own habits and whatnot. So in a sense, she dropped the formal speech and picked up on their characteristics of speech.

I didn't speak much of the death of the Third Hokage because, like with her own family, she prepared for the inevitable and wasn't as affected. I mentioned that it saddened her, which was true, but in a way she also doesn't know how to let the emotions through for just how bad his death hurt her. They were best friends, maybe even closer than her and Itachi. He grew along side of her ever since he got his teammates and had Tobirama as a sensei, so they knew each other for decades. Even though their friendship was based more on a sense of respect other than having the type of friendship that resembles family, like how Sumiko and Itachi have, they were still close (which, in my head, explains why she never picked up on his characteristics of speech).

* * *

 _"The Hokage asks for your presence immediately." A tall man stated. He had_ _white-ish colored hair_ _, and three lines marking his face; one on each cheek and one on his chin. He red eyes looked at me with no emotion, but the blank face he tried to hold up was slowly slipping into a hateful scowl._

 _I blinked in surprise, not expecting the Hokage to want to see me, as well as the fact that this man stated such official business in the middle of the market place. Though there was't a lot of people, the ones that were there were staring, or acting like they were talking with friends when they were obviously listening in on the conversation._

 _"Follow me." He demanded, turning around and leading me to the Hokage._

 _The walk was fast paced and awkward, but thankfully it finally ended once we reached the doors inside of a building. Once the doors were opened, a rather large room came into view; a man with long, dark hair was sitting at a desk with papers stacked up, looking over some documents before giving his attention to us; obviously the Hokage._

 _He smiled up at me once the man shoved me inside completely._

 _"Sumiko Keiko." He simply stated._

 _"Ah, great! It took a couple days but we finally found you." The Hokage grinned, handing out a scroll towards me. Hesitantly I walked closer, reaching out to grab the paper. "This came in with a pigeon two days ago. It's addressed to Sumiko Keiko, which we presume to be you after much questioning of the villagers."_

 _"Yes, indeed." I replied back. "May I open it?" I asked once I grabbed it._

 _"I would actually like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind, it won't take too long." The Hokage stated._

 _"Oh. Of course not, please, ask away." I coincided with a small smile of my own._

 _"How long have you been staying here, and if I may, where is your home land?"_

 _"My clan resides in the Land Of Mountains. I arrived here around five months ago as an emigrant." I stated truthfully, picking at the edges of the scroll. I was interested in reading it as soon as possible- if I seemed as a threat, why wasn't I questioned when I arrived?_

 _"You have no file stating of your presence in the Leaf Village or where you came from. Do you know who let you inside the village walls?"_

 _"No, I apologize. It was two men with dark hair, and one had a beard. I'm afraid I don't really remember their exact appearance besides that." I grimaced._ Great, already off with a bad start.

 _"After you finish reading the scroll sent to you, I would like to create a file with your information. It's important for average citizens to have this type of information available, especially in instances like this." The Hokage mentioned, dropping the smile slightly._

 _"Of course, may I read it now?" I asked again, a little impatient. The familiar drawn on crest came from my clan, and if this was sent, then something important must have come up._

 _"Yes, please do."_

 ** _Sumiko, the clan is in need of your assistance immediately. The sickness that effected the young and old has escalated beyond beliefs. We thought that it would be something we would be able to handle, but within the last few months it has spread to over half of the clansmen. Many has already passed on, and we can only pray to Kami that you make it back here in time to save the ones left. I have already shown signs of the sickness, it's only a matter of time now._**

 ** _Councilman Ryou._**

 _;_

 _"How do you feel, Akiko?" I asked the little girl. Her face was flushed with her rising fever, and along with the weight loss it had sunken in, making her look malnourished. A sudden cough wrought the small child's body, and when the fit ended, she groaned softly. While dipping a small rag in a basin of water, I felt her around the face, noting just how high her fever had gotten within the hour. Wringing out the rag, I placed it upon her sweaty forehead and watched her fall into a restless sleep._

 _"How is she?" Ryou asked, holding onto the door frame. His body had gotten weaker since he sent the scroll, I was afraid soon he too would meet his end._

 _"She's just like the others. There's nothing I can do, the illness has achieved what it came to do. I've used my chakra many times but it's like it didn't faze anything. They're too sick for any kind of improvement." I spoke without emotion, using the railing on the bed to help me stand up from the small stool._

 _"It's just as you said, there's nothing you can do. So please, Sumiko, do not blame yourself for any of this." He tried to reason, grasping my shoulder._

 _"This would not have happened if I would have just stayed here." I spoke the truth. I had a wild dream of leaving, and the moment it comes true, over half the clan diminishes. I guess this is what happens when fate has a different path for you to take._ _I gently shook off his hand and had him take a seat. "One thing I do know is that it is airborne, that's why it spread so fast, and it's effecting the lungs from what I've been able to tell."_

 _"Will you catch the sickness, then?" Ryou questioned with grief._

 _"No, not at all. Ever since the Miyoko activated, illnesses have not tainted my body." I assured._

 _"I guess this clan is just a lost cause, now, huh?" The man asked softly._

 _;_

 _Everyone. Every last Keiko within the clan walls was buried into the ground. It didn't even take a month, but with that amount of time, I watched everyone die a suffered death. And it was all my fault._

* * *

 _"I wanted you to meet Tobirama's students." Hashirama said with a grin. After returning from my home land and let the Hokage know what all happened, he had been trying to lift my spirits for some odd reason. But after awhile, with a decent excuse, I continued along with whatever he had been trying to do._

"Why do you continue to do this?" I asked the Hokage after eating out with him a third time at a new restaurant.

"Because I am partially to blame for making your clan die out." He finally stated after a long while of prodding. "If I had your information sooner, you would've been notified earlier of what was going on with your clan. I blame myself for the lack of care some of my shinobi show, and have changed some things around because of it."

I looked at him in astonishment before shaking my head.

"Please do not put any type of blame on yourself. The sickness was around for many months, I'm solely responsible for what happened. Two extra days would not have made any difference, I promise."

"Could you inform me of your clan one day?" He questioned after awhile of silence.

"Only if you keep the information between us." I smiled softly.

 _"This is_ _Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane." Hashirama introduced, leaving Tobirama on the sidelines with a frown of annoyance. We walked right into a training session and the young kids couldn't of been happier._

 _"Hey, lady! You're pretty!" The one known as Hiruzen exclaimed loudly._

 _"Enough." Tobirama demanded, stepping in between Hashirama and I, and the three little shinobi, not giving me time to answer the small child. "It's time to get back to work. Brother, please take your friend and leave."_

 _Hashirama listened to his younger brother and grabbed my elbow gently, leading us away from the training grounds with a grin._

* * *

 _"Minato Namekaze is going to be appointed as the next Hokage." Hiruzen stated, looking out the large glass windows._

 _"I've heard much about him, he's very popular, even amongst the civilians." I noted aloud._

 _"Yes, he'd make a fantastic Hokage." Hiruzen nodded sightly in agreement with himself. "I would like for you to meet him."_

 _"Yes, of course. Whenever you see fit." I agreed._

 _;_

 _"We-hell-hell, what's your name, foxy lady?" A tall man with white, long, spiky hair greeted me in a suggestive manner, getting in my personal space and smiled a smile he probably thought attracted women. Nonetheless, I still "introduced" myself._

 _"Yukiko." I lied, adjusting my voice slightly while attempting to side step the strange man._

 _"Sounds beautiful, just like you, sweetheart."_

 _"Jiraiya sensei, leave the poor girl alone. She's the one the Third Hokage wanted me to meet." Another tall man appeared, though from the restaurant I was attempting to get to._

 _I lifted my mask and stared at Jiraiya with a grin._

 _"Sumiko, what the hell! Why are you wearing a mask?"_

 _"You would flirt with anyone that had breasts, Jiraiya." I tsked the poor man, ignoring his question and shoving the mask into his hands while I walked to Minato. "Hiruzen has gloated much about you, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." I held my hand out for him to shake, and quickly received it._

 _"The pleasure is all mine." The Yellow Flash replied, a friendly smile in place of a smirk._

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and if you would like to know more, feel free to ask me. To you guys, I really hope I didn't create a Mary Sue, it's just how it all came together. This probably all seems jumbled up, but it's just how it all went in my head. I didn't add a little story of how Sumiko met Jiraiya because I feel like it's obvious since he was Hiruzen's student. The next chapter will come when it comes, and it'll be taking place within an episode or so. (: Thanks for the reviews and all that jazz, and I hope you guys have a wonderful day/night!


	22. Chapter 22

**First off I would just like to say a quick thanks to recent follow/favs/reviews. I love you all! Secondly, I haven't had time to do the chapter(s) that starts Itachi off in Shippuden; a lot has been going on lately. But, it's been a few weeks since I last updated and wanted to give you guys at least something, yanno? I promise, _pinky promise_ (something I never go back on), that the next chapter will start with the Shippuden part of the series. This chapter will be a flashback involving Sasuke. I'm really sorry guys, and I hopefully me saying I'll give a double update when I post my next chapter will make you satisfied. (: I hope you all enjoy this!**

* * *

~ Sasuke; age 9, approx. 8 months after the Uchiha Clan Massacre ~

 _All he did was sleep. He never smiled, he never laughed. His once shining eyes turned dull with sadness and despair. Late into the night his sobs would wake me, and early in the morning he would do his best to avoid me. He hardly ate, something his academy teachers took note of once they seen his thinning frame._

 _"Are you not feeding him? If you aren't capable of taking care of this boy correctly, he will be sent to foster care."_

 _"I feed him, he just refuses to eat all that I've given." I snapped. We argued for awhile, the shinobi giving off aspects as to why Sasuke should be taken into the Leaf's care instead of my own. "Please, leave. It's late into the night and I'd rather us not wake him talking about his potential future as if he isn't a human." The Chuunin glared at me, but complied._

 _"You've got a month to prove you're worthy of taking care of this child."_

 _I wasn't aware that Sasuke was already awake, though, and that he listened to everything that was talked about. A week after the conversation between the academy sensei and I, I noticed him finishing every bit of food that I gave him. Within that month, he gradually gained his weight back enough to convince the academy teachers that I was in fact capable of taking care of him._

 _It was two months later that I stopped giving him space to cope. He'd been in a depressive state for months on end and showed no signs of improving any time soon, so, I took matters into my own hands._

 _"What do you say we go out and get you some new things?" I questioned one morning after breakfast, fixing his tousled bed hair. I used to ask this almost daily a few months ago, but stopped once I realized he wasn't going to answer me. But today was a different day; he nodded his head once and hopped down from the stool he was sitting at._

~ Sasuke; age 10, one and a half years after the Uchiha Clan Massacre ~

 _His academy grades improved dramatically, he was at the top of the class with teachers constantly praising him. He talked a bit more, but would still rather be to himself. His blank face now held a frown of annoyance; the girls in his class won't stop following and approaching him, along with the sympathetic glances villagers passed his way. Sasuke's mood gradually turned more on a sour note with a hint of judging, especially towards Naruto, though really a connection between the two was somewhat apparent. From what I'v heard, there was a constant rivalry with the two of them, and as long as it got him interacting with others more, I was totally fine with it._

 _We were on our way back from clothes shopping, it was his day off from the academy and Hiruzen was busy with hounds of paperwork, when he spoke to me first instead of the other way around._

 _Sasuke's little fingers tightened around my hand, pulling my attention directly to him. "Sumiko? Can we get some tomatoes?" The convenient store was right around the corner, surrounded by others alike it._

 _"Of course, Sasuke." I replied back with a smile. The corners of his mouth rose even the slightest before his face went blank again._

~ Sasuke; age 11, two and a half years after the Uchiha Clan Massacre (roughly a few months before Team Kakashi formed) ~ (His POV)

 _She was all I had left, the only family there was for me. She cared for me; wiped away my tears when they were shown around her, fed me even though I was too sad to eat, tucked me in when I awoke from night terrors. She was like a second mother, taking care of her own until she couldn't anymore. She sang me happy birthday, and made me simple rice balls since she knew I wouldn't of liked a cake. She gives me anything I ask for plus more._

 _Without Sumiko, where would I be?_ Who _would I be? Would I be even more socially deprived? Even sadder than I am now?_

 _"Look at that butterfly, Sasuke." She said offhandedly, pointing to the fluttering insect a few feet away._

 _I scoffed outwardly, but really I knew to appreciate it's beauty. She might not know, but she taught me to look at things slightly different than how I used to. Other's would ask 'Why would it matter that the butterfly was there?' No one cares of it's existence - until you actually see it. It's wings were framed in dark blue, fading off to orange and then yellow towards the center. It was rather large, larger than most butterflies you see. Substituting the thought of not caring with the actual thought of 'why did it catch their attention?', you learn to marvel at it's beauty instead of the fact that it's just another bug flying around._

 _When we walked back to her apartment on our days out, I always held her hand - even now. She made me feel safe, like I still had a part of the clan with me, like I had_ family _with me._

 _After we ate and watched tv, we were on our way to bed. I didn't look at her, but with the slight gasp she emitted, I knew my words affected her more than I could ever understand._

 _"Goodnight, I love you."_

 _And I closed the door._


	23. It's NOT The End! Bare With Me, Please!

**I've been thinking long and hard for a good few months now, and I know I've done this way in the past, but I really feel the need to do it now as well:**

 **I've worked so hard on this story, and I will admit that a lot of chapters were sucky - mostly because it was written in bad times within the last year. It's the first piece that I've ever written that has ended up being so many chapters long. I love it, _but_ , I don't love how it's turning out.**

 **I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable with it; I know that this story is not the best, but I desperately want it to be. Itachi Uchiha is my favorite character, and I believe that he deserves better than what he received in the anime.**

 **This story is not going in any direction that I want it to, it's actually part of the reason why updates were so slow. I'm not satisfied with where it's been straying within the last few chapters, and I want to fix it to the best of my ability.**

 **I'm going to take the chapters down (not the story as a whole), and keep this note up. The story won't be gone forever; a few months maybe. I want to change my OC, and I feel that if I want Itachi's character to have the best that he could possibly have, I need to do this. I also want to change my OC's clan and kekkei genkai, it's very unrealistic (even within the shinobi world) in my eyes. I might change Sumiko's name, as well as the title. I've caught up pretty far in the anime (I used to watch dub but I switched to sub), so that has also influenced me wanting to do this.**

 **I guess by the time I really get down and dirty with this fanfic, it'll be a semi new story, but still yet with some of the same things.**

 **I really hope that you guys stick with me, I don't want to lose whatever support I have just because I feel the need to do this. And I hope you understand _why_ I'm doing this. Yeah it ended up being better than _Paper Lanterns_ , but I'm just not satisfied with it. ****Also, I plan on finishing it completely before I post it back up again, that way I can have a strict schedule of posting it weekly so the whole "when is author-san going to update?" thing won't be a problem because I have a bad habit of procrastinating, especially when it came to this story since I can't seem to get it in the direction that's right for it.**

 **I've matured since I first started this (which, the original was probably posted like 2 years ago or close to it), and I've been practicing writing; I really think that this would be the best idea for me so the story can truly shine like how I want it to, as well as show Itachi in a way that is more realistic with the emotional trauma that he had to endure while he was still alive.**

 **I want this story to be seen as humanly human as possible (as possible as it can get within a world like Naruto's). I will also be adding more characters in it, not necessarily OC's, but more interactions with canon characters.**

 **I'm really excited to do this, and I can't wait to start; this story's plot has been swimming around in my mind for a very long time.**

 **I really hope some of you review and tell me what you think. If you want to yell at me, that's totally fine. I've been yelling at myself for awhile now as well haha. I promise I won't disappoint you guys, I'll pour my heart and soul into this and make it ten times better. BELIEVE IT!**

 **(The chapters will be start to be stripped within the next few days)**

 **~I suck as a person and author, I know.~**


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